Searching for Shuichi
by New Light
Summary: Yuki wakes up in the hospital after falling into a lake. Then he finds out that no one seems to remember Shuichi... He's in a strange world controlled by a mystery person, and he has the one and only Ryuichi Sakuma as his guide!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Uhh… my head… It hurts. What happened? All I remember is chasing Shuichi… Why did I do that?

I open my eyes to see that I'm in a hospital bed. Seguchi is by me, face in one hand and a tear is sliding down his face. I sit up and moan at the light throbbing at my head.

"What the hell happened?" I groan.

Seguchi looks up then wraps his arms around my neck very uncomfortably.

"Oh, god, Eiri!" he exclaims with relief. I grunt my disapproval. He finally lets me go, wiping away some tears. "I'm sorry for that, Eiri. I'm just so happy. You fell in a lake and caught hypothermia… We all thought we would lose you. Mika is downstairs getting coffee."

"And where's the brat?"

"Tatsuha? He's with Mika."

"Not him—Shuichi. Where is he? I bet he's having a heart attack from all the stress he must have over me."

Seguchi gives me a confused look and a second later, flashes a sympathetic smile.

"You need to rest more, Eiri," he says.

"Not until I see the brat."

"There is no brat. There is no Shuichi."

"Stop playing around, Seguchi. I want Shuichi in here, now."

"Who is this Shuichi?"

It's taking every once of energy I have not to attack him. He's getting on my very nerves. Using my hands to gesture, I answer, "Pink haired kid with amethyst eyes. About ye tall? He works for you and is the lead singer of Bad Luck! He's my lover!"

"Eiri, please, just go to sleep."

I reach over and grab the collar of his shirt. I can see a shade of fear in his eyes.

"Where is Shuichi Shindou?" I bark.

"I'm sorry, Eiri, but there is no such person."

Mika comes into the room with Tatsuha. They're looking at us, strangely. I let go of Seguchi, get off the bed, and stumble toward them.

"Tell me you know who Shuichi is!" I beg, the panic rising in me. Their faces are now blank. "Mika, he's the annoying brat who's always around me! Tatsuha, you practically tried to rape him when you first met!"

Both Mika and Seguchi stare at him, shocked. He backs against the wall, saying, "I never did anything like that! My heart belongs to my Ryu!"

Mika turns her attention back to me.

"We don't know any 'Shuichi'," she states.

"Stop jerking me around!" I roar.

"Calm down, bro, don't strain yourself," Tatsuha warns.

"I will calm down when I see Shuichi!"

That's when everything begins to spin and then slowly turn to darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Yuki… you know I love you…" Shuichi whispers, burying his face in my chest. "Do you love me?"

We are both lying on my bed. He is cuddled up very close to me. He stares at me with those innocent amethyst eyes. I smile down on him.

"No, I don't love you," I reply. "Not since Kitazawa have I ever loved…" His eyes become wide with pain. I tighten my hold on him. "The feelings I have for you are even stronger than love, Shuichi. Stronger than anything else."

His eyes become full of such joy, the joy I know all too well.

"That must be a nice dream he's having…" a voice interrupts.

The sight of Shuichi fades and disappears as the faces of his friends, Nakano and Fujisaki, show up. They are watching me, relieved.

No… I lost him, again…

"How are you feeling, Yuki-san?" Seguchi's cousin asks.

"Shuichi…"

"Who is that?" Nakano asks.

I've been passing in and out of dreams. I can't stand it. I need him with me but… No one remembers him! And I don't know what to do…

I've been getting visits from all of his friends. All of them coming just when I think I'm back with the brat.

"Yuki-san?" Fujisaki calls.

I slowly turn my head to stare straight into the brunette's eyes.

"He was your best friend," I whisper.

Nakano narrows his eyes, saying, "Yuki-san, my best friends are Suguru and Ryuichi."

I sigh and throw off the blanket. The boys move to push me back, but I push them away and stagger out of the room.

Shuichi. Why can't I find him? Why doesn't anyone remember him? Was he all just a dream? No, that can't be. Is God punishing me because of my past? I need that brat… I need him to be able to survive. Shuichi!

I begin to feel myself falling… falling… and I can't stop…

A pair of hands helps me up, and I see a familiar pink shape. Is he back?

"Na no da!" cries Sakuma with that infernal stuffed bear.

I regain my balance, nod at him, and continue down the white hall. People around are watching me. It's uncomfortable.

I look back and see the immature singer there. Maybe that's why…

Crap! I'm falling, again! Sakuma grabs me.

"You should go back and rest!" he chirps.

"Shut up!" I yell. "I need to be somewhere…"

The park… our park. That's where I need to be. I try to stand again. Sakuma looks at me with serious eyes.

"He's sleeping…" he whispers, softly.

"Huh?"

"If you ever want to see him again, rest. Then you can save him."

"What are you talking about?"

I'm having a rush of dizziness. Sakuma scoops me up with surprising strength.

"Don't strain yourself, Yu-Yu! You could die!"

My head rolls about as the singer carries me back to my room and the others. Sakuma puts me on the bed and covers me up.

"Now, you stay good!" he chirps as he sets the doll on his head and exits, arms spread out and making whooshing sounds.

"Thank goodness Sakuma-san was there," Fujisaki sighs

I'm slowly succumbing to the darkness, once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Someone else's P.O.V.

"Why? Why did you kiss me then?" a voice asks.

There are two figures before me, but I can't tell who they are; their faces are all blurred. One has his arms on the other's shoulder… But what's going on? Where am I?

"Why didn't you reject me?" the voice continues. "If you hate me, just hit me like you want to. Maybe it's just a meaningless kiss to you, but not to me! I mean it! It's true that Mika told me she would have Seguchi support me. But . . . but I don't care about some reward! I wanted to know more about you and even if it wasn't much, I thought I was helping you."

Who are these people?

Yuki's P.O.V.

"Wake up, Eiri, it's time to go home," calls the voice of my sister.

I roll over in bed, trying to find the warmth I always feels at my side every morning. It's not there. Damn, not again.

With a quiet sigh, I slowly open one eye to see Mika smiling happily at me. I prefer seeing that damned brat's cheerful face than anything else.

"Come on, Eiri! I've checked you out and everything."

She takes off the blanket and sets some clothes at the foot of the bed. She turns around. I sigh again and begin to dress myself.

"There's some more good news, Eiri!" Mika continues. "You'll be living with me and Tohma for a while."

"Hell, no!" I state, firmly, as I button up my shirt.

"Oh, yes, you are! We'll be keeping a close eye on you so you don't try to commit suicide, again."

I freeze. Suicide? Why the hell would I try that? I was happy! I was living a good life with… Shu…

"Tohma and I will make sure you are with someone at all times. I'm busy today, so I'm taking you to NG Studios."

"Why can't you take me home so I can lock myself up in a room and work?" I ask.

"Because work is what got you into the accident! Besides, you need the fresh air."

"I want to search for Shuichi, then."

Mika turns back to me, eyes glaring. I shoot a glare at her, too, only stronger. She sighs.

"Why do you insist on finding this 'Shuichi'?" she asks, cupping a hand to my cheek. "There's no such person. Eiri, I would know if you've met someone like him."

I growl at her. How can she not remember? Shuichi is one person who is very hard to forget.

Mika drags me out of the hospital and into her car. She drives me to the studio and leads me all the way to Seguchi's office. He's just sitting there with that smug smile on his face.

"I leave him to you!" Mika exclaims, surprisingly cheerful.

"Thank you," Seguchi says and turns his attention to me once the door clicks shut. "So, Eiri, how are you feeling?"

"Hn."

His eyes become worried.

"Please understand, Eiri, we're all worried for you!" I close my eyes, annoyed. "I know you're still wound up about that deadline… and still upset about the incident in New York…"

"Shut up!" I bark. "You think that's what this is all about? You know nothing!"

And I don't want to remember Kitazawa, anymore… Damn it, my head! I begin to fall to my knees… What's wrong with me? Seguchi comes around his desk to help.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Where's Sakuma?" I groan.

"He's working with Bad Luck. Why do you need to know?"

Without another word, I stumble out of the room. Luckily, the manager of the band is walking down the hall, polishing a gun. I grab a hold of his shirt.

"What's wrong, Yuki-san?" he asks.

"Take me to Sakuma…"

"And why should I?"

I glare at him. The door opens behind me.

"Oh, K!" Seguchi says. "Can you watch over Eiri for me? It seems he needs to cool down, a bit, and I don't think I'm helping."

The manager shrugs and pulls me up. Once we reach the Bad Luck rehearsal room, he opens the door and sets me down in the closest chair. The other four occupants of the room stare at me. Then that Sakuma practically flies toward me for a suffocating embrace.

"Welcome back, Yu-Yu!" he chirps.

I frown at him and nod to the others. When he tries to get off of me, I pull him closer.

"What was all that crap you were spouting about at the hospital?" I inquire.

He suddenly smacks me with that stupid rabbit.

"Kumagoro says it's not good to swear!" he cries.

I growl at him and pull the fool even closer. "Answer me!"

Tears begin to well up in his eyes. He leaves the room, crying, "Yu-Yu is a meanie!"

My jaw drops. Is that really an adult? I stare at the others for help, but they all shrug. With a heavy sigh, I go after the child.

In the hall, the headache returns, but I walk on to where I hear annoying sobs. Sakuma is curled up in a corner, that bunny bent over on his head. I move toward him and pat his back. He turns around and quickly hugs me, again.

"Yu-Yu isn't mad, anymore, Kumagoro!" he squeals.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I grunt to assure him. "Now, can we talk about what you said at—"

He clamps a hand over my mouth and looks from side to side. He lifts me up and drags me around the studio, yelling, "Tohma! I'm taking Yu-Yu out!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sakuma had dragged me around town all the way to the park where Shuichi and I had first met. The place I always find him when he's depressed.

Sakuma lets go of my hand with a bright smile, his precious Kumagoro under his arm.

"It's safe to talk, now!"

"What was it you said at the hospital?" I ask.

"Well…" he looks at the view of the city.

"Tell me!" I growl. "What happened to Shu—"

The little bastard covers my mouth, again.

"Shh!" he hisses. "You can't say the pink one's name! This is the only place _he_ doesn't know about and saying the pink one's name would send out a signal to _him_."

His hand slowly comes down. I can see that he's serious about this. I nod, cautiously.

"Who is this _he_?" I ask.

"The one who has the pink one! _He_ is hiding him, somewhere."

"Where? Where is my brat?"

His face becomes childish as he says, "If I knew that, I would have told you!"

"Then where can I find _him_?" The singer shakes his head. Damn. That's when I realize something. "Hey, wait a minute! Why is it that only you and I remember the brat?"

Sakuma sighs and puts his doll on the railing.

"_He_ can't control you—at least, not yet," he answers, softly. "And me, _he_ thinks I'm one of his creations. I'm not, though; I'm as free as you are, here. Whatever you do, don't reveal my secret or this place when you're in the city."

I nod.

"Fine, then, but why am I here? What does _he_ want from me? Did I really try to commit suicide over some deadline?"

Sakuma stares at me, shocked.

"Of course you didn't; you loved the pink one too much! And I don't think you'd ever do something like that! It's just his little cover story for why you actually fell." Sakuma walks closer to me and whispers in my ear, "You're only here because _he_ wants you, Yu-Yu."

I begin to breathe deeply as I try to take in all this information. Me? Why does he want me?

"Only you, alone, can save the pink one, Yu-Yu," Sakuma continues. "I'm just your self-appointed guide. You should relax, though."

"Relax? How can I do that?" I yell, angrily. "Some bastard kidnapped my lover and you want me to _relax_?"

He takes his Kumagoro and hits me over the head with it.

"Yes, I want you to relax! You're still recovering from the lake accident! If you aren't careful, you will die and all hopes of saving the pink one will be gone!" He walks behind me and massages my shoulders. "Another thing you need to do is stop thinking about the bad things in your past! It will give him an easier time trying to control you; _his_ powers on you work through grief. Don't succumb to _him_ when _he_ shows himself. Don't trust anyone except me."

I nod at these instructions as the tension leaves my shoulders.

"How do I go about searching for my lover?" I ask.

"I don't know! Go about town as you usually do, just don't be suspicious."

"Mika and Seguchi want me to be supervised wherever I go."

"We could make it so that I drag you all over the city, then." He stops working on my shoulders and grabs my hand. "Speaking of which, let's go to the candy shop near here!"

I look down on him. He looks so much like a child. It still amazes me that he's older than me. I pull my hand from him.

"No," is my firm answer.

"But Yu-Yu! It would make the perfect alibi!"

I sigh deeply at this predicament. He can be so much like Shuichi. I just wish he'd stop calling me "Yu-Yu".

In the candy shop, the singer went berserk and wanted to buy everything. I tried to convince him into buying just a few things. I bought everything he got, not really seeing what went into the large paper bag Sakuma is now carrying.

We're in front of the Bad Luck room, listening to the ravings of that one Sakano guy. Sakuma smiles at me, very cheerfully.

"Now, remember what we said and act casual!" he instructs.

I roll my eyes at him.

Inside, Sakano is spinning around while K is trying to shoot him into stopping. Nakano is watching with a laugh coming close. Fujisaki is at a corner of the room, sighing in exasperation. None of them seem to notice that their missing singer and I had entered.

Sakuma, in his child-like form, yells, "I'm back!"

Sakano stops spinning and melts into a puddle, saying with relief, "Oh, Ryuichi, you're back!"

"Sakuma-san, where have you been?" Fujisaki asks.

"Yu-Yu and I went to a candy shop far, far away! We got some treats for all of you!" He reaches in the bag and brings out a smaller bag of lollipops and gives it to Sakano's solidifying form. "For you because you're a strong producer who cracks under pressure…" He pulls out a bag of peanut M&M's and hands them to K. "For you because they hurt if you throw them at people." A bag of peppermints… "To Fujisaki because he's smart…" Then a bag of snickers… "For Hiro because everyone seems to like them both…" Then a small box of strawberry pocky. Sakuma hands it over to me. "And for Yu-Yu because he needs to get sweeter!"

His eyes are sending me a different message, though. I stare at the box in my hand. Shuichi…

Just then, the door opens and Seguchi steps in. Quickly, I hide the box behind me. Sakuma smiles and digs around the bag.

"I have something for you, too, Tohma!" the singer chirps as he pulls it out. "Twizzlers because you're twisted!"

**A/N: If this is weird in any way, it's because when I wrote this down, my head was frying up under a blow drier and I couldn't think of any way to change it. And the candy… result of a fried brain and my sister's B-day. I don't think I was in my right mind at the time. Oh, well! Too late, now!**

**Please, review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer (but only because of the quote thingies that seem kind of strange): I own zippo. Nada! Quotes are from the subtitles in the dvds. Yup!

Chapter 5

Everyone stares at Sakuma in shock. Seguchi blinks a few times.

"What did you say, Ryuichi?" my brother-in-law asks.

"They're twisted!"

No, that's not right. He definitely said that Seguchi was twisted. One look at Sakuma tells me that he'll explain it at a different time.

Seguchi blinks, again and takes the bag. Sakuma's hand dives back into the bag and pulls out Kit Kat bars. Seguchi turns his attention to me.

"It's time to get back home, Eiri; I'm done for the day."

"Hn."

I get up, glad to be able to escape from Sakuma's madness. As soon ads I begin to leave, the bunny jumps in front of my face. The damned thing bends over, as if it was sad.

"Is Yu-Yu coming back, tomorrow?" the thing asks.

I glare at the thing and let my eyes slip down to Sakuma. His eyes are pleading for show, but I can see they are telling me that it's important to come back. I close my eyes and nod.

The doll's arms flap about and it hugs my face.

"Yay, Ryu, Yu-Yu is coming back!"

"Hooray! And maybe we can go to the zoo!" Sakuma says for himself.

Seguchi chuckles and gently pulls me out of the room.

* * *

In the car, I watch the traffic pass by. Seguchi sighs, thoughtfully.

"Eiri, what was it that Ryuichi said that first time with the candy? I could have sworn he said that I am twisted."

I smile at him, sweetly, trying to hide my laughter.

"Why would he say something like that? You've been friends for years! He definitely said the candy was twisted. But he's a crazy one, you know."

Seguchi nods and pays more attention to the road. "I suppose you're right…"

"What's the matter, Seguchi? I thought you liked licorice."

The man smiles. "Speaking of licorice, what kind of candy did you get from Ryuichi?"

I sigh from my seat as I watch some unfortunate teen try to walk a bunch of dogs. I had put the pocky in my pocket. For some strange reason, I just don't want Seguchi to see it.

"I didn't get any," I reply, truthfully.

I look at Seguchi from the corner of my to see if he suspects anything. He only shrugs and drives on.

* * *

"Here we are, at last!"

I'm standing in the doorway of the Seguchi residence. I've never been here, before. I had always turned down Seguchi and Mika's offers to come. It's… nice…

After a few minutes of searching almost every room, Seguchi walks up to me

"Well, Mika isn't back, yet," he reports. "But your room is here. Come, take a look!"

I follow the voice into my new room. It's practically empty; there's a window across from me, a bed and bureau to my right, and a table with a small television to my left. In front of me is a suitcase.

"Laptop?" I ask, hopefully.

"No, Eiri," Seguchi states, firmly. "Work is what got you in this predicament." I glare at him, darkly. He smiles as if he didn't sense the anger. "Well now, Eiri, it's time for me to cook something special for tonight. Your clothes are in the suitcase and I'll see you in a little bit!"

With that, he leaves. Finally! Some time alone.

I reach into my pocket and draw out the box of pocky. After opening it, I slide a stick into my mouth, wincing at the flavor; I hate artificial strawberry flavoring. But… he didn't; he loved this stuff.

I let the tears slide down my face as I fall to my knees.

Someone Else's P.O.V.

"I know now. That I love you." A pink haired figure whispers from next to a pond. "What's more… whoever you are… whatever happened in the past //// is ////…"

I'm standing right behind those same people as before. We're at some temple. The cherry blossoms, here, are beautiful… He sounded determined when he spoke. But it's strange. I don't know "what" is still "what". It's a frustrating thing. The one in pink is wearing an ugly-looking dress, too… He looks ridiculous!

"I don't like not knowing things about you. Those things I don't know… tell me them all," he continues.

The other person is standing still as the wind picks up a little. Though I can't see his face, I can hear the reluctance as he answers, "I killed a man. When I was sixteen years old. In the place where I lived." There's a very quiet gasp from the pink head as the blond walks up to him. "I killed him deliberately."

Now I want to yell out to the pink-headed creature to run away from the psychopath, but something inside of me is holding me back. I stop my train of thought when the blond one turns to him.

"Are you happy, now?" he continues with something that sounds like… relief? Or was it a hint of guilt? "This is the past you wanted to know. You. You just said you love me. Can you still say that now?"

My heart jumps to my throat, waiting with anticipation at how the pink one would reply.

"Are you that much of a fool?" the pink one finally answers. "Of course I can say that. The past doesn't matter. You have come a long way with your threats. With that skill. You can no longer… run away from me."

Amazing! After knowing of the blond guy's crime, he still has feelings for him! I want to feel fear for the pink one, but I know, deep down, I should be more than happy for him.

I feel warm…

Yuki's P.O.V.

It's so freezing cold. It's hard to breathe in the frigid air because I'm afraid my nose would freeze and fall off my face in any second. The snow is twisting around in the air, attempting to confuse me, to distract me from my goal. I call out to him, but the snow fills my mouth with flavorless flakes. I know he can't hear anything else I try to scream; my voice is just a faint squeak in the air as the wind cries out loud. The only thing I can to be seen is all the white and, in the very distance, the bright strawberry pink of his hair bobbing… only to vanish, suddenly.

I scream at the top of my lungs, ignoring the biting of the flakes at my skin and continuing to sprint in that direction until the explosion of something cracking comes from beneath me. I look down. Ice. I don't even have the chance to get away before it shatters, carrying me with it.

The water wraps around my body as it tries to crush me. Panicked, I search for my way up and instead find Shuichi floating a little ways away from me. It's amazing how his body twists and turns in a sort of waltz with the water. Ignoring the thought, I swim with all my might toward him, grab him by the waist, and find my way back to air.

Finding solid ground, I throw him on it. I can't seem to get myself out, but I don't care now. I lay my head over his heart. I can't hear it beating! I begin to beat my fist against his chest and try to use CPR.

Relief floods through me as he coughs up the water and gasps for air. I bow my head over his forehead, feeling a bit of his body heat.

"How do you feel?" I ask, surprised to hear my own voice being very hoarse.

He gulps some more air before gasping, "Hate you, Yuki."

"What?" I ask, mouth open with shock.

That's when I begin to slip back into the water, my strength completely gone…

ooooooo

I wake up with a start. What the hell…? A dream? It felt real. All of it. And what Shuichi said… He hated me? No. It's only a nightmare.

Someone is watching me. I turn, but no one is at the door.

Maybe I'm just… paranoid. Maybe it's from just waking. I yawn, thinking about what happened before falling asleep. After finishing the stick of pocky, I put the box in the bureau and unpacked all of my clothes into it. Then I went to bed without eating dinner. Hmm. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Yawning, again, I get out of the room to search for the bathroom. I feel myself being drawn to another door. Strange. Before I can lay my hand on the knob, Seguchi suddenly shows up and practically throws himself in the way. Then just as quickly, he begins taping police tape over the door. Turning around, he smiles, apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Eiri, but you can't go in there; we have lots of broken things in there, and the repair man won't be coming for another week."

I raise an eyebrow, skeptically, and ask, "Where's the bathroom?"

He points to another door. I nod and go. My brother-in-law is strange.

I wonder what happened. To make Shuichi upset like that… What could I have done? Good thing it was just a dream.

I stare at my reflection after washing my face.

Where the hell is this _he_? What could _he_ want with me? Why hide my Shuichi? One thing is for sure: when I find this mystery guy, I will make sure _he_ suffers a fate worse than death. He'll wish he never touched my angel.

I leave the room to see Seguchi folding a blanket on the couch. He gives me a sheepish smile before explaining, "Mika kicked me out of the bedroom." After I questioningly raise my eyebrow, he continues, "We had a little cat spat the other day; if not for me, you both would be sharing the same room! Her temper is even quicker with the pregnancy."

I raise my eyebrows at that. Mika never told me she was pregnant. Either that or I wasn't listening. I'd best keep my distance from now on when she's around.

Seguchi cheerfully begins to brew some coffee. I pick up the morning paper and sit on the couch.

"You know, Eiri, I've noticed you've become close to Ryuichi."

"Hn."

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up a bit as Seguchi hovers behind me.

"Well, can you tell me why?"

"I made him cry. He wouldn't stop until I said I'd spend time with him."

"Why didn't you get any candy?"

"Didn't want any."

"Have you stopped thinking about that Shuichi character?"

I reach behind me for his collar and pull him close. He's really annoying me!

The corners of his mouth twitch into a smile. A smile that somehow makes my stomach drop. His eyes seem to be uncharacteristically narrowed and dangerous.

"Why do you care so much about a dream, Eiri? That's all he ever was. Just something to comfort you while you were sick. Give it up, Eiri. He's only a fantasy!"

That's when I snap. I lunge at him, pinning him to the ground. He begins to struggle under my weight. I slam his shoulder against the ground, causing him to hit his head.

"Shuichi Shindou is not a fantasy!" I scream. "He isn't a dream! If you say that again about him, I'll…"

"Eiri, please, calm yourself!" he pleads. "I didn't say anything about Shuichi. I didn't say a thing!"

And that's when I stop. I'm in a dream world, right? One that is controlled by some unknown force. This isn't really Seguchi. Just a pawn being used to manipulate me… I close my eyes, trying to ward off my remaining anger.

The coffee maker begins to beep. With a deep sigh, I walk toward it to make our coffee.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ohayo, minna-san! A little weird, still… Not much else to note about, here, but here's another little disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't make any money off of this. All I have is six dollars in change because I used over $85 on manga the other week… Damn… As I said before, the quotes are from a site. These ones are from episode eight.

Chapter 6

Someone else's P.O.V.

The warmth is completely gone, now. I've noticed that it's been coming and going in different degrees for a little while. The warmest I felt it was just after finishing that vision. But then it left me. I was plunged into a cold darkness.

And now I must wonder about this amnesia I seem to have. It makes me feel sad. And lonely… I think I want to see those two, again…

Yuki's P.O.V.

Amazingly, Mika never woke up after the little episode between Seguchi and me, this morning. I was thankful for that. Seguchi brought me to the studio after a disturbingly silent breakfast. I couldn't blame him. It was strange, though; he didn't have any recollection of what happened, of the terrible things he said. It almost worried me.

When I got to Bad Luck's recording studio, Ryuichi launched himself at me, causing me to fall hard on my ass. Then I had to watch the band working before getting dragged back out and going to the zoo. I had to buy Sakuma some cotton candy, and now we're walking toward the petting zoo.

"You've been thinking bad things, again, Yu-Yu," Sakuma suddenly whispers, forlornly.

I stare at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Sorry," I answer.

"Tell me about it," he urges, offering me some of his treat, "it will help."

I shake my head at both offers. I think I like Sakuma like this, when he is acting more adult. It's much more comforting. Then I get more adult responses.

"Yu-Yu, You need to be more open. Hiding all your problems will result in you being miserable no matter what you do in life, and we can't have that happening. Was it something Tohma said?"

I look down at him, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I didn't, but Tohma is _his_ right-hand man, even if Tohma isn't aware of it. Tohma can get close to you whether you like it or not, so he works with _him_ in that aspect. That's why I said he was twisted. Don't trust anything he says, especially when it's something about the pink one."

With a soft sigh, I proceed to tell him of this morning's event. Sakuma nods and shoves a piece of cotton candy in my mouth, nearly choking me. The sweet treat quickly dissolves on my tongue.

"The pink one isn't a dream! This world is!"

"What about you?" I ask. "What are you in this world?"

"I'm just a guide for you. I just want to see you and the pink one happy and together—and alive."

I turn to him.

"Shuichi can die, here, as well?" I ask, shocked.

The people around us stop doing their activates and stare at us, eyes wide. Sakuma clamps a hand over my mouth and pulls me into a nearby bathroom. After checking the stalls, he leans against the wall and sighs with relief.

"I hate it when they do that; they're so creepy!" he complains. He looks up at me with pleading eyes. "Please don't call out the pink one's name, anymore, especially when there are lots of people around!"

"Sure," I answer, hesitantly.

"Good. Now, what I meant was that the pink one will die if you don't save him. He is as fragile as you are in this world, if not, even more so, especially since he's not an active participant. His heart is so deep in depression, that it also factors into how much time he has, left. And right now, I'd say he has about one more week in this world."

My eyes widen as I remember the dream. Specifically, when Shuichi said that he hated me. What the hell did I do to upset him so? I can't remember!

"Stop that, Yu-Yu!" Ryuichi yells. "Don't think like that!" His face softens and he reaches for me. He pulls me into an embrace and gently caresses my head. "I can't read minds, but I know when you're stressing yourself out. It will all come to you soon enough. When it does, think about it with an open mind or make sure that I'm around. You don't have to go through all of this all alone, you know."

With a small smile, I gently push him away and reply, "Come on, let's go see those animals."

When the coast was clear, Sakuma and I headed out of the bathroom. I quickly buy my companion another bag of cotton candy and we walk on to the petting zoo.

A llama walks up to us and accepts the singer's hand petting its head. I look around to watch all the people. They're going about their day as if nothing strange had happened. Everything seems normal. And that's good; I wouldn't want a bunch of strangers constantly watching over me, real or not.

Sakuma gasps, "_He's_ taunting us!"

"How?" I ask.

"Well, take a look."

I turn to see the llama's face. The eyes are large and purple. Ryuichi points in the distance at a cow. It's pink and black…

The smiling face of that Kumagoro lands on my face and I find myself being dragged around town, again.

"Don't look, Yu-Yu! We need to shield your eyes! I bet _he_ has evil pink and black zebras around, too! It's time to get out of here!"

"Sakuma, can I walk on my own, now?" I ask.

"Oh, sorry!"

Sakuma had been dragging me around town for what seems like several hours. And not once did his stuffed animal fall off. But now, we're walking to Seguchi's house. Again, Ryuichi seems upset. It worries me.

"Are you okay, Sakuma?"

"I'm sorry, Yu-Yu…"

"For what?"

He turns around and buries his face in my chest.

"I'm doing my best, but there's no way I can really protect you; you're stuck with Tohma and I can't find _him_ or the pink one! And _he's_ always popping in and out of this world, which makes it even harder to find _him_ and protect you!"

Uh! Damn it! I hate Sakuma when he's like this. I force him to look at my face.

"You don't have to worry, Ryuichi," I insist. "I'm old enough to take care of myself. And you don't have to worry about my brat; I'll get him back all hyper and happy."

Sakuma sniffs a bit more. I wave his Kumagoro a bit in his face until he giggles and grabs it, strangling the stuffing out of it.

"Okay," he whispers and wipes his eyes on the rabbit's ears. "So, what gift are you gonna get for Hiro and Ayaka-domo's wedding?"

"What wedding?"

The singer giggles with glee. "Boy, you really don't pay attention in the studio, do you? Hiro and Ayaka-domo are getting married next week!"

My eyes widen. Hiro and Ayaka are getting married in my world, as well. Though, I think the ceremony wasn't due for a quite a while. And I remember I made some promise…

Something's wrong. I can't breathe! I feel myself collapsing to the ground.

"I-I can't dance…" I wheeze.

"What do you want?" I ask from my doorway. Strange. I can't identify the stranger.

"You asked me to come," the stranger replies. I can't identify the voice.

"Oh, yeah… Come in." I lead him to the couch and go to the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"Oh, no, that's quite all right."

I get myself a beer and walk into the living room. I stare at mug, uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Can't dance…" I mumble.

"What?"

"Nakano and Ayaka's wedding. I made a promise to dance with Shuichi, then…"

A warm smile lights his face.

"Well, then, let's get started," he replies.

"Yu-Yu, what's the matter?" Sakuma asks.

I can breathe, again. Sakuma tries to comfort me by embracing me. I pull away from him.

"I remembered something…" I stand erect, trying to smile, a bit for him. "Sorry for worrying you."

"Oh… It's okay. But Yu-Yu, remembering can put a lot of stress on people who are not in the world it belongs... Be careful if you have another attack like that…"

I glare at him, skeptically.

Someone else's P.O.V.

", Are you all right? Did anything happen? Did that lazy eye 1 say cruel things to you? Did he do something to you?"

I'm back with those two in a completely different environment from what I'm used to. The blond is sitting on a couch, looking down at the pink guy who is kneeling before him. They don't seem too happy. I have no clue what the hell is going on.

The pink one reaches for the blonde's face but the blond catches his hand.

"You're the one he did something to, aren't you?"

What happened to the pink one? I don't understand…

"Oh, but I'm okay, now," pinky says, trying to enlighten the other.

"It was my fault. Because of me, you're the same as I."

The pink one yells something in distress, but I can't understand it, at all.

"I really wanted to be with you, but I couldn't. I didn't want to chase you away." The blonde's voice seems to be breaking. He's crying! "When I remembered how I always betray others… No. I absolutely can't go back to that time."

They hold each other as the blond continues to sob. Wow. He's never struck me as the type to cry. He's always seemed so cold and aloof. I would have thought he'd kill anyone who upset him. Now he seems so vulnerable, so helpless, as if drowning in whatever terrible memories he has. This completely changes my opinion of him.

I watch as the blond shifts to lie on his stomach. His lover lays a hand on his head.

"It's okay," he comforts. "You can't betray anyone, and I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll protect you…"

Why is it that I'm witnessing the events of these two lovers?

Yuki's P.O.V.

"All right, Sakuma. I get the fact that this is a sort of dream world, but what's the story, here? I mean if it weren't for Shuichi, then I would have never been acquainted with anyone Seguchi associates himself with."

Sakuma and are almost at Seguchi's.

"Oh, that," he laughs. "It's kind of a funny story, how it started and all, as far as this world goes. You see, one day, I decided to play hide and seek with K, so I came here from America. Then while I was running around, I tripped Hiro. And after running around, I took him to the hospital. Somehow, while he was disoriented, we became good friends. Then we wanted to form the band. So we talked to Tohma, got Suguru to join, and then we became a big success."

I smile as I try to picture Nakano being tripped by Sakuma. It's quite an amusing picture what with the singer panicking pathetically and Kumagoro's ears flopping about.

"When Bad Luck first got to the top of the charts," he continues, "Tohma somehow managed to get you to come to dinner with us."

I chuckle and ask, "And the whole 'Yu-Yu' thing?"

"You got a little tipsy during the dinner and spilled wine on poor Kumagoro's head, and I got so shocked that I could only say, 'Yu…Yu…' and passed out! I've supposedly been torturing you with the nickname since! Lucky for us, Kumagoro was able to get all clean and sparkly or else you'd be in big trouble!"

Sakuma raises his doll into the evening sky and spins around, happily. How the hell can he come up with such a stupid story? I let out another chuckle.

"I wish I knew where to find the brat," I say out loud.

"I know, but this world was made so you can't find the pink one and so you'd focus more on _him_," he answers.

Inwardly, I growl as I clamp a hand on his shoulder.

"And, yet, since I got myself into this world, the one person I've been focusing on more than anyone else is you, Sakuma-san. And it seems to me that you know pretty much everything there is to this dreamland." I tighten my grip on him. "How do I know you're not this '_he_'?"

Sakuma begins to giggle.

"Good question, Yu-Yu, and the answer is: you don't! But I'm not. Really, I'm not bad enough to trap someone in another world for my own selfish needs, no matter what alternate universe I'm in!"

I can see the sincerity beneath the humor in his eyes. I close my own, tight. I really thought I'd catch him off-guard or something and get some answers. I've been searching as discreetly as I can for Shuichi, but still no fucking luck. My patience is running thin. I might just kill this _he_.

Sakuma hits me over the head with his doll.

"We're here!" he chimes.

We're in front of Seguchi's house, now. I didn't even realize. Did I really space out that much?

"Thanks."

I dig into my pockets for the keys. Sakuma's arms come around me in an awkward embrace.

"Any time you want me to teach you to dance, talk to me, and we could try in a studio, okay?" he whispers.

"Hn. We'll see."

"Yay!" he cheers. "Bye, Yu-Yu! I'll see you tomorrow!"

He bounces away.

I open the door to see Seguchi by the stove. I can't tell what he's cooking; I can't even seem to smell the food. Not that I would really care. Without greeting him, I walk past him and go to my room. Seconds later, there's a knock.

"Eiri?" Seguchi calls. "How was the zoo? You're here pretty early! Knowing Ryuichi, I would have expected you to be back after it closed."

I glare at the door, hoping for it to burst into flames and take Seguchi with it to the depths of hell. When he calls my name, again, I sigh and answer, "It was fun, but we came home because I didn't feel well. Now, leave me alone." Damn, I almost sound like Sakuma.

"Will you at least join me and Mika for dinner?"

"Probably not. Good night, Seguchi."

I hear the footsteps of his departure. Sitting on my bed, I open the bureau, take out another stick of pocky from the box, and slowly chew on it.

**A/N: Ha! This was 7 ½ pages long! I'm so happy!**

**1: I don't know if they have that in the manga, but in case they don't, "lazy eye" refers to Taki Aizawa.**

**And to pUppetEEr-NiNja (only because I'm to lazy to reply to you…): I have no clue why cinnamon makes me crazy. It used to be that I hate it, but now I love it. Different amounts bring a lot of emotion… to the extreme… so far, thou, only anger and extreme giddiness……**

**Please review! Plus, it's nice to hear from people… Hell, I don't care if you just put a letter. Yeah…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, just the plot of the story. I have quotes, again, forepisodes 11 and 13. But, here's the thing: most of the quotes from episode 11 are from that one site, and the ones from episode 13 are from the actual English dub. The last paragraph that I have Yuki saying at the end of the "Someone else's" first P.O.V. thing was also from the English. Yeah, I had written those down before they were off on-demand. I never thought I'd actually use them for a fic. Anyway, I promise this is the last disclaimer (at least, for this fic) because I own nothing from the anime.**

Chapter 7

Someone else's P.O.V.

I can feel my heart fluttering! The warmth came back, not as warm as earlier, but I can sense it and it's… Oh, wow. It's lonely! And sad! Since when does heat have feelings? That's so weird. But I want to comfort it. If only I could!

Damn, I just triggered another episode of the soap opera between the pink and blond guys! This time we're at a hospital. The blond is on the bed, probably sleeping, while the pink is next to him. The pink bends over the blond—is he kissing him?

"I hate the fact that you will be leaving," the pink says, "but I hate it even more that you are suffering because of me. That's why…"

I hear a very small gasp as he tries to hide his upcoming sobs. I wonder what happened.

"That's why?" the blond urges.

"What? You were awake? You should have said something, then!" 1

"Even now, you're too sympathetic with this harsh, pompous jerk."

Huh? What the hell is he talking about? Harsh, pompous jerk? Sure, that is what he is, but still! Damnit, I hate coming into something after something really big happened!

"I'm sorry," the pink one whispers.

"How boring. Maybe going to New York isn't such a bad idea."

I'm totally confused…

"If you want me to go," the pink starts, "I can't stop you. But… but I… I'll die if you leave me behind, here! No matter how much stress I cause you, that won't make you die, right? But I seriously will die! Even if you throw up blood or have an ulcer." 2

Throwing up blood? Ulcers? I almost wonder ifthe pink guy's feelings border on obsession. If anything else, the pink guy sure is dramatic.

There's a bit of crying coming from him, but the blond pats his head.

"Don't be so serious. When you're not simple and honest, it's rather boring. Anyway, if that was so, I wouldn't have you near me for so long."

"…"

"To tell you the truth, I feel like my brain's being constantly ransacked when I'm with you." Oh, how sad! "I feel like something I've forgotten is stuck somewhere inside my head. So yeah, sometimes it is rough being with you. But I don't think it's all that bad, either."

Wow… I guess the blond kind of has it rough.

Yuki's P.O.V.

We're in my house, again. Shuichi and me. We're cuddling, but he looks hurt. I tighten my hold on him.

"The feelings I have for you are even stronger than love, Shuichi."

His eyes become full with that joy I know all too well. Then he laughs and kisses my nose.

"Good, 'cause you know what day it is?" I stare at him, blankly. "It's our two-year anniversary!"

I smile. "And whichanniversary would that be? We seem to have so many."

He reflects my smile and bounces to the center of the room.

"It's the anniversary of the day we first-ever met! You make it sound like we have thousands of anniversaries, Yuki! We don't, really!" He turns around and begins to use his fingers to count. "Let's see… There's the anniversary of our first time (which is coming up real soon), then there's the one where I finally claimed you as mine in front of all those people at the concert …" I take the opportunity to slide off the couch and cautiously creep up behind him. "And then there's—"

"Shut up," I growl, predatorily before spinning him around and claiming his sweet, full lips.

He welcomes the kiss all too willingly as he pulls himself closer, one hand tangled in my locks, the other drawing circles and hearts and other patterns on my back. That very hand suddenly stops and moves elsewhere. I crack open one eye to see that his hand now has a remote. Music plays, but it seems fuzzy to me. Not that I would care.

Damnit, he's breaking the kiss! Those amethyst orbs twinkle at me, capturing mine. He pants, softly, before grinning and burying his face in my chest.

"Let's dance, Yuki!" he squeals, happily.

I gawk at him as if he was crazy. Then I start to feel my own face burning. I turn around to hide it. I've never told him I can't dance.

"How about not?"

"Oh, come on, Yuki," he urges, turning me around to face his cherubic face. "In the two years we've been together, we've never, ever danced!"

"What a shame," I retort, sarcastically.

"Oh…" he begins to pout. Then he looks up, determined. Crap. "Fine, then, we won't dance. You know why? Because unknown to Hiro and Ayaka, their wedding is on the anniversary of when I chased after you in New York, got you back, and kept you! We'll dance, then, in front of everyone!"

"Tha—That's such a childish request," I stutter.

"I don't care! We're going to dance, and you're going to enjoy it!" I grin at him and his childish features. How can I refuse him? Slyly, he wraps his arms around my neck and whispers, seductively, "Besides, I thought it was my childishness that you loved most about me…"

I grin, even wider, and carry him, bridal-style to our room.I nuzzle at his neck.

"You're very wrong, Shuichi; the thing I love most about you is the fact that you are you."

His eyes water with tears of joy.

I feel like someone is watching me, again. Itcausesme to wake up with a start. No one is around.

Damn. And it was getting to the good part.

Rubbing at my eyes, I get out of the bathroom to wash my face. I put my hand on the knob.

"Wrong door, Eiri," Seguchi grumbles from his couch.

"Oh…"

I turn and go the right way.

Someone else's P.O.V.

I felt it! The warmth! And it got _really_ warm, this time! Hee hee!

Yuki's P.O.V.

The car ride was silent between Seguchi and me. It was almost uncomfortable, but I dismissed it, thinking he was worried about Mika and the baby. Anyway, he left me with Bad Luck, and once again, I paid little to no attention to their work. I mostly thought about this morning's dream.

But now, they're all done. Time to go home. Hiro is wishing us farewell with, as Sakuma would say, a lovey-dovey sparkly in his eyes. Fujisaki, seeming as bored and exasperated as ever, waves at us before going. K and Sakano leave at the same time for some drinks. Ryuichi flashes his grin at me before turning.

"Wait!" I call. He looks back at me and I blush with embarrassment. "Teach me." His face becomes completely blank. Iclosingmy eyes and finish, "Teach me how to dance…"

His face lights up with joy and with… mischief? Somehow, I think I'm going to regret ever asking him...

Someone else's P.O.V.

Wah! I want that warmth back! It makes me feel all giddy inside when it's around. It's not something I can search for in this darkness I'm almost constantly in. When the visions are gone, this is where I go…

Actually, thinking about the pink head and the blond triggers the visions after a while, now, and thankfully, I've been bombarded with a lot of them. Though it's annoying to see all the private moments between the same two blurry-faced people, it's always comforting to be away from the dark. And somehow, everything seems to be from the pink guy's point of view. I don't know how to explain how I know it, though.

Ha! Speak of the devil! I can feel another vision coming! And there's… someone howling?

The scene opens in some strange, old-looking room with graffiti and stuff everywhere. And there is a large hole in the ground. The blond is sitting against a wall, beneath a window, eyes wide with shock, as a large ball of something tan with brown spots spinning in the air. The ball opens itself to reveal… a blur-faced puppy with tufts of pink hair! Just looking at the thing causes both the blond and me to gasp.

The puppy pants, "I finally found you… …"

"How, how did… how did you find me?" the blonde asks, still shocked.

"Shut up! That doesn't matter one bit, now! You disappeared without letting me know!" He shoves a paper in front of the blonde's face. "See this? That time? My lyrics that got blown by the wind that time? I finally finished writing the song. Look at it."

Ooh! I want to see! I wonder what's so important about this one song.

The blond takes it, and after a quick second, he chuckles and replies, "You are always like this. You… never think about the other person, do you? I used to be like that, too. That's how I pushed Kitazawa into a corner… and how I killed him."

"Don't be ridiculous…" the pink guy whispers. "Don't be ridiculous!" He latches himself onto the blond. "So what if I pressured you into a corner? Don't you think you're gonna get away from me! You can run or you can die, but I'll search for you and I'll find you. I'm never letting you get away from me." A second to let this sink in… "Why? Because I love you!"

That was an awesome confession. I hope to see that everything is going to work out for them.

As the vision begins to fade, I hear the slight shift from the paper and the blond saying, "It's a zero. You've still got zero talent..."

Somehow, that comment seems... sweet...

Yuki's P.O.V.

Dancing with Sakuma started out very awkward with all the giggling on his part. He taught me many steps while using many of Nittle Grasper's and Bad Luck's hits for music on his radio. But he also did a lot of swinging around and being a damned idiotic bastard. It's left me nearly breathless.

Now, it's really late. A slow dance song had just started when Sakuma suddenly jumped and began to shiver.

"What's wrong?" I ask, concerned.

He raises his head, beaming.

"My Double S senses are telling me he's okay!" he exclaims.

"'Double S senses'?"

His eyes narrow, a bit. "The pink one's initials," he answers, matter-of-factly. Then he becomes cheerful, again. "I can feel it, something's making him feel happy! He's okay!"

I sigh with relief. "Then let's go get him!"

Sakuma pokes my chest, pushing me back, a bit. There is a bit of a frown on his face.

"Hold your horses, Yu-Yu. I don't know where he is. I only said that he's happy and that he's okay. It means that he can stay in this world just a little longer before it's too late. But his will is like yours; it can be easily shaken, so I don't know how long his happiness will last. But at least it's a start."

"Damnit!" I growl, slamming my fist down on the little radio. I look down to see I had hit the replay button. The song starts, again. Sakuma stretches himself and yawns.

"It's time to go, now, Yu-Yu; Kumagoro and I are sleepy-sleepy."

My nose wrinkles at his term.

"I don't want to stop, yet," I whisper. "Show me how to slow dance. I'm sure my brat would love it if I knew that; I used to always hear him talking about it."

He raises his eyebrows, astounded.

"I thought everyone knew how to do that! Don't you watch people in movies?"

"I don't watch many," I admit, almost embarrassed.

The singer shakes his head, "You really are a sad person… Okay, but one dance and then we go for sleepy-sleepy time." He walks to the radio and plays the song, again. Then he walks toward me, gracefully, and sets his hands on my shoulders. "Now, put your hands on my waist… good, now, just follow my movements." He yawns a bit and mumbles, "Sleepy-sleepy…" He finally rests his head against my chest.

As we move to the music, I let my mind wander. I think I'm starting to get used to all the mystery that's been surrounding me. I want to go back to my world, though. I miss Shuichi more than I thought I ever would. If only I knew what the hell is going on.

I'm grateful Sakuma's been around. He's been a nice substitute for the constant drama and comic relief in my life and has been a great guide around here, but this version of him isn't real. Is he? I wonder how he'd be if it were Shuichi in my shoes.

Damnit all, that baka's the only thing I can think of! That almost pisses me off.

I mean, depression! His friends always help him with that! He bounces back from it, every time! What the hell did I do to get him that way? It's my fault we're here. _He _only wants me. So why did Shuichi have to get into this mess?

"Ryuichi?" I call.

"Hmm?"

"How do I go about this world?" I breathe in deeply, feeling nervous. "What do I do if… if something happens to my baka?"

"I' on' know," he slurs. "I guess' you' be un'er _his_ control—completely—cause you' be really, really sad. You' lose your light and become—" he yawns, "—cast into darkness. No worries; we won't let it happen. Shuichi will be safe an' so will you…"

I freeze. I thought it was taboo to say the brat's name!

"Ryuichi!" I gasp.

"Hmm?"

I stare at him, still shocked by what he just did. He is wearing a wide, sleepy grin, and his eyes can only be seen through his long lashes. Damn, I should have let him go when he said he was tired. I'm just glad we're not at the zoo like last time this happened.

The door opens just as Ryuichi's lips meet mine. A gasp comes from both me and the person at the door.

"Ryuichi?" that person whispers.

**A/N: Gah! I actually did this! XD! I actually did this evil cliffhanger thingy with Ryu kissing Yuki! Ha ha! I have no clue what I was doing for the dance… Bwa ha ha!**

**1: Okay, I could have sworn that in the English dub, Shuichi was dancing and saying, "Yuki's feeling better…" I don't know, I find that sentence really weird. That is, if I'm right about what happened, there.**

**2: The actual words for "have an ulcer" were "have a hole eaten through your stomach", but… yeah… I needed to change that.**

**Okay, review, people. Sorry for how this chapter ended to those of you who hate it (my sister did and nearly strangled me the other day), but this thing has been in my head since I started this, so I really needed to write that, here…**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I wonder what is going through his mind at the moment… Seeing his colleague and his brother-in-law like this… All I know is that his face is a mix between shock and anger.

My eyes are wide with my own shock as Sakuma smiles into the kiss. I pull the singer away and stare at the keyboardist.

"Seguchi, it's not what it looks like!"

His eyes close as if to say, "No more." After a few deep breaths, he growls, "When you are done, Eiri, meet me at the car."

"Tohma, wait!" The door shuts. I look down at Sakuma. He still has that lazy smile. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hiss.

"Mm? Wha' Ta'su'a?"

I begin to shake him to his senses. "Snap out of it, you fool!"

That's when his eyes snap open. He blinks a few times then opens his eyes in sleepy recognition.

"Oh. Hey, Yu-Yu!"

"Don't 'Yu-Yu' me; you just kissed me!"

If any possible, his eyes grow even wider, and he starts wiping his lips with his sleeves.

"Eew! Ptooi! Yuck! I don't like you that way!"

I try to massage my temples, sighing, "I know. It's even worse that Seguchi saw us."

He gasps.

"He did? Oh no! Kumagoro and I are in big trouble!" he wails. "I knew I was pushing it!"

"Pushing what?"

"My bed time! I always go sleepy-sleepy at nine!"

I look up at the clock on the wall. Almost midnight.

"Shit, Sa—"

Kumagoro is thrown in my face.

"This is no time to swear, Yu-Yu!" Ryuichi scolds for the rabbit.

I throw the thing back at the singer.

"Sakuma, why didn't you tell me that? I would have let you go!"

He stands and walks to the radio.

"I thought I could stretch it, like when we work really late. But we did that all last week before you got out of the hospital, and I guess I'm still recovering. I didn't care if I suddenly fell asleep in the middle of the room, but I never expected to do it on you and end up kissing you!"

I glare at him.

"Can't we just explain what happened?" I ask. He's not listening. Instead, he's babbling incoherently to Kumagoro. I sigh, about to yell at him more but decide against it since he seems to be all wound up in his distress. Instead, I smile at him, mischievously and tease, "You know, when you were waking up, you called me Tatsuha."

I grin at him as he turns red all over.

"Well, that explains why I kissed you, then!" he exclaims. He stares at the ground. "That is… you look a lot like him." He quickly turns and, with Kumagoro in one arm, grabs his radio and goes to the door. I move in front of him.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Home!"

"Will you be all right?"

"Of course, Yu-Yu! My place isn't all that far from here, and the little accident has woken me up, better. I can take care of myself, thank you very much." He opens the door. Before stepping through it, he warns, "Good luck with Tohma."

"What do we do about the baka?" I ask.

His head pokes through the door.

"We'll step up our search for him and use Kumagoro to find him." That thing? At my shock, Sakuma sighs and says, "He's our little 'pink one radar'. Didn't you know?" I shake my head. He smiles. "Goodnight Yu-Yu."

————————————————————————————————————

The car ride home was eerily silent. I tried to explain what had happened with Sakuma, but Seguchi turned on his radio at full blast. I couldn't hear my own thoughts during the rest of the ride. When we got to his house, my ears were ringing.

Mika was waiting for us with a warm smile. As much as I would have loved to be with her in her kindest hour, even if she isn't my real sister, I really needed to be alone— now more than ever. So, I gave her a short "goodnight" and stalked into my room to eat my usual stick of pocky.

Someone else's P.O.V.

In the darkness, again. Damn. It's so terrible here. And the visions aren't coming as much, anymore! At least I have some of that warmth to comfort me… But it feels so sad. I can tell it's scared and really lonely, too! I wish I knew why so I could maybe fix it.

Somewhere in this darkness, I'm also feeling pain—excruciating pain. I want to cry out and get away, but I can't do anything about it. I'm helpless. There's even more pain coming, as if I'm being hit.

"Damn it!" an evil-sounding voice screams. "He's supposed to be falling in love with me! By keeping you away, he was supposed to fall for me, not some mentally under-developed singing brat with a damned pink rabbit! Where have I gone wrong?" More pain. A harsh sob can be heard in the distance. Soon, it becomes an evil laugh again. "I see! I haven't been spending enough time with him! He's just blind! And it's all because of that Ryuichi I created. He's the only reason my love hasn't come to me. Yes… I need to get rid of Ryuichi. Without that nuisance around, Eiri is sure to fall for me… He will be all mine! And you can't do a thing about it, can you, Shindou-san?"

Even more pain flows through me. Who are those people mentioned? Who's hurting me? Why? What do I have to do with anything? I mean, I haven't done anything wrong, have I?

The pain stops, briefly.

"Don't worry, Shindou, I'll take good care of him," the voice sneers.

Yuki's P.O.V.

Over the next couple of days Seguchi and I have been further apart. He's been going home without me and when we do finally meet, he always has a strange twinkle in his eye. When I finally managed to explain what had happened that night, he only waved at me and paid attention to whatever the hell he was working on. In any case, Mika has been driving me to and from the studio. I've been glad to find that she hasn't been as bitchy as I thought the pregnancy would make her out to be.

There has still been no sign of Shuichi. I've searched the whole city twice over. I've sat at our park to clear my mind and had no luck. I can't figure anything out. Despite how Sakuma is always trying to cheer me up, I've been feeling myself getting on the depressed side, wondering if we'll ever find Shuichi.

Today is the fourth day since the… incident with Ryuichi. I'm currently perched on a chair at the far side of the studio, watching the band. A knock comes from the door. Sakano opens the door, revealing a young woman.

"Oh! Good evening, Kyoko. What brings you here?" the producer asks.

"Good evening, Sakano-san. Seguchi-san would like to speak to Yuki-san."

"Is there a reason why?" I ask.

The girl shakes her head. "He only said it was urgent."

I glance over at Sakuma, who seems to be very nervous. I look back at the girl and nod, getting up. A hand grabs my wrist.

"Yu-Yu, don't go," Ryuichi pleads, quietly.

"Why not? What's wrong?"

"I don't know; I've got a really bad feeling in my tummy."

My eyes soften. "I'll be fine, Sakuma. There's nothing to worry about."

He still doesn't seem so sure.

"I'll be right behind you," he says.

I nod and follow Kyoko down the hall. As we turn the corner, a couple of policemen walk past us.

Ryuichi's P.O.V.

The feeling I got in my tummy before is getting even worse with every second. Normally, I wouldn't be this way if he was just going to see Tohma, but a while ago, I thought I felt Shuichi getting hurt. I never told Yu-Yu because I knew how he'd act. If he's starting to hurt Shu-chan, then I can't trust Tohma alone with Yu-Yu. That's why I've been secretly stalking Yu-Yu now. I need to help him and the Shuichi out of this world.

With my dear Kumagoro in my arm, I walk to the door and find two policemen standing in the way.

"Ryuichi Sakuma," one of them starts, "you are under arrest for crimes against the Superior."

The other officer whips out a pair of handcuffs and steps forward. I step back until four sets of hands grab at my limbs. Kumagoro falls in a heap to the floor.

Putting on my best teary-eyed, innocent face, I cry, "But I haven't done anything wrong!" I know I haven't…

"Oh, yes, you did," Fujisaki almost sings from my right leg.

"Remember the kiss you gave Eiri-sama the other night?" Sakano-san whispers from my left arm.

Except that. That's the only bad thing I did.

"It's the worst crime you can possibly commit," K, who is holding his gun to my head, sneers from the other arm.

"Punishable by death," Hiro finishes.

Oh, pooie on my dreams of Tatsuha!

The officer with the cuffs comes behind me, and I struggle against K and Sakano-san. Finally, my arm comes free from Sakano-san, and I thrust my elbow into his stomach (thank goodness he isn't real). I end up hitting K across the face, too, and kick at the two on my legs until they fall off. The policeman with the cuffs tries to jump on me, but I dodge him, causing him to fall on the other four. Finally, I scoop up Kumagoro into my arms and kick the other officer down where the sun don't shine and run down the hallway, bullets firing behind me.

I don't know how I'm going to hide. The entire city is most likely on full alert, by now; everything will be after me from women and children to innocent little puppies, and butterflies! I can't run to the park because then _he_ will be able to control it, too. All of this is because I acted on my feelings for Yu-Yu's brother.

Oh, no! Yu-Yu! There's no telling what trouble he might be in. Or even dear Shuichi! Now, more than ever, he needs to be found!

"Okay, Kumagoro, do your stuff!" I whisper at my little friend as I round the corner.

Yuki's P.O.V.

In front of the office, the Kyoko girl smiles very brightly. Bowing to me, she opens the door. Seguchi is standing in front of the window, looking down on the city. He turns to me with his own smile.

"How are you this morning, Eiri?" he asks.

I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm doing fine. What do you want? You said it was urgent."

"Oh, Eiri, is that any way to speak to your brother-in-law?"

"I'm worse with Tatsuha."

He lets out a chuckle. "I suppose that's true." He begins to walk around his desk. It seems like he's trying to pose for me. "To tell you the truth, I just wanted to spend some quality time with you… You know, say sorry for ignoring you all this time…

Something in the back of my head clicks, telling me that this isn't Seguchi. I back away from him to the door.

"What the hell do you want with me?" I demand. The bastard cackles and steps even closer to me. "Damn it all! At least stop controlling Seguchi's body and face me like a man!"

"Oh, Eiri, you are such a fool," he sighs.

Our faces are mere centimeters apart. I try to push him away but only to find that I can't. I look down and see why. It looks as if the door had melted, covered my arms into a plastic mold, and hardened, again. My legs, up to my knees, are in a similar state. I lift my head to glare at my captor, only to find his fingers are tightly twisted in my hair and his lips crushed against mine.

What the hell? His tongue outlines my lips, and he nibbles a bit at my lower lip. I try to bite him, but that only gives him the incentive to try to stab his tongue into my mouth.

After what felt like an eternity, he pulls away, slightly panting and completely satisfied. He wraps his arms around my neck and cradles his head under my chin.

"Gods, Eiri, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that!" he whines. "You don't know how terrible I felt when I saw you and Ryuichi the other night. But I guess I know how Shindou-san felt when he saw us. I almost sympathize for him."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I growl.

"Hanging around Ryuichi has made you stupid, my dear Eiri," he purrs. "I really thought you would have figured it out… I had hoped you would have fallen into my plans…" He leans closer to my ear. "It doesn't matter, though. I finally have you all to myself."

"What—?"

His lips take mine, again, more hungrily. Suddenly, memories begin to flood into my head.

ooooooo

"What do you want?" I ask from my doorway.

"You asked me to come," Seguchi replies.

"Oh, yeah… Come in." I lead him to the couch and go to the kitchen. "Want anything?"

"Oh, no, that's quite all right."

I get myself a beer and walk into the living room. I stare at can, uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Can't dance…" I mumble.

"What?"

"Nakano and Ayaka's wedding. I made a promise to dance with Shuichi, then…"

A warm smile lights his face.

"Well, then, let's get started," he replies.

ooooooo

ooooooo

I'm against the wall, on the ground, all tired out and panting while drenched in my own sweat. I drowsily roll an eye up at Seguchi, who isn't anywhere near my condition. I wonder if I'm getting out of shape…

The smile my partner has is a very affectionate one.

"Oh, Eiri…" he sighs, content. "How is it that no matter what, you always look so beautiful?"

I narrow my eye in response. He kneels before me and presses a light kiss to my forehead. His eyes are now full of a certain sadness I've never seen in them.

"Why do you risk so much to make Shindou-san happy?" he asks.

"Because," I pant, "he's done a lot for me over these last two years."

"And what about me? Haven't I done anything for you in all the years I've known you?" His eyes are now filled with agony. "I know everything about you. I've always been there for you. But instead, you fall for some stupid little bipolar brat!" A second later, his eyes harden and he continues, "I've done so much for you, and you've barely even noticed…"

Before I can contemplate on that, he lightly presses his lips against mine. I try to grunt in protest, but because of my current condition, it comes out as a tired moan. I hate this position. I don't like not being in control of a situation. And I feel too much like putty to throw my brother-in-law off.

That's when I hear it. The gasp of my lover, as well as the sound of his backpack falling. All these jolt Seguchi back into reality, and he looks up, almost surprised to see Shuichi standing there, back from staying over at Nakano's. I look over, too, to see him with tears cascading down his chubby cheeks.

"You're cheating on me, Yuki?" he squeaks.

Before I can say anything, he runs back the way he came. I begin to stand with newfound energy. Seguchi tries to block me.

"Forget him, Eiri!" he pleads.

I roughly push him aside and rush out the door.

ooooooo

ooooooo

It's so freezing cold. It's hard to breathe in the frigid air because I'm afraid my nose would freeze and fall off my face in any second. The snow is twisting around in the air, attempting to confuse me, to distract me from my goal. I call out to him, but the snow fills my mouth with flavorless flakes. I know he can't hear anything else I try to scream; my voice is just a faint squeak in the air as the wind cries out loud. The only thing I can to be seen is all the white and, in the very distance, the bright strawberry pink of his hair bobbing… only to vanish, suddenly.

I scream at the top of my lungs, ignoring the biting of the flakes at my skin and continuing to sprint in that direction until the explosion of something cracking comes from beneath me. I look down. Ice. I don't even have the chance to get away before it shatters, carrying me with it.

The water wraps around my body as it tries to crush me. Panicked, I search for my way up and instead find Shuichi floating a little ways away from me. It's amazing how his body twists and turns in a sort of waltz with the water. Ignoring the thought, I swim with all my might toward him, grab him by the waist, and find my way back to air.

Finding solid ground, I throw him on it. I can't seem to get myself out, but I don't care. I lay my head over his heart. I can't hear it beating! I begin to beat my fist against his chest and try to use CPR.

Relief floods through me as he coughs up the water and gasps for air. I bow my head over his forehead, feeling a bit of his body heat.

"How do you feel?" I ask, surprised to hear my own voice being very hoarse.

He gulps some more air before gasping, "Hate you, Yuki."

"What?" I ask, mouth open with shock.

That's when I begin to slip back into the water, my strength completely gone.

So this is how I'm to die, eh? I find this somewhat ironic. But I don't care for anything, anymore. As long as Shuichi is safe, I can go without any regrets. Heaven, hell, it doesn't matter. As long as Shuichi is safe, nothing else matters…

There is a tug on my arm, and I can see that I'm getting closer to the surface. Once again, I'm out of the water. With unmoving eyes, I gaze upon my rescuer who is currently doing a better job at CPR on me than I had just a few minutes before with the singer. The worried eyes of Tohma Seguchi hover above me.

"Leave it to you, Eiri, to forget your coat during one of the worst blizzards of the century," he mutters, reaching for two coats, one mine and the other his. He places both of them on my body and collapses over me. "Ambulance is coming, soon," he whispers.

After a few more seconds, he begins to pull my body into his car.

ooooooo

"You bastard!" I yell. "It wasn't my fault Shuichi's depressed; it's yours!"

"Of course," Seguchi purrs. "And it was so perfect with you lying against the wall. That moan was just the icing on the cake; Shindou came just a second before you did that. The look on his face before he ran was priceless!

"Later on, both of you caught hypothermia and were taken to the hospital, where you both have yet to recover. Shindou-san is in bad shape, quite 'frankly'. They're expecting you to wake up any day, soon. I only caught a nasty cold and have been falling in and out of consciousness ever since.

"Every time I did, I found myself in this world, which I seem to have created for being away from the real world for so long. Everyone here acted on my every whim. All except Ryuichi. He was always an oddball, though, so I dismissed it (though, now I see that was a mistake).

"Anyway, one day, I found that I could pull you into the dream. I don't know how I did it or how I knew you weren't another creation. I had decided to set out working on making you mine. I thought that if you could fall for me here, then you could do the same in the real world. Unfortunately, when I pulled you here, so did Shindou. So, I hid him…"

As soon as I registered that last sentence, I bark, "Tell me where he is!"

He gives me a crooked smile. "Oh, Eiri, you really couldn't figure it out?" he asks, excitedly. "I thought I was being too obvious!"

With that, he snaps his fingers and leans in for a nip on my ear. I don't give him the pleasure of seeing me react. When he pulls back, I find that we are no longer at NG. Instead, we're at his "house". To be more specific, in front of the door covered in police tape. I'm no longer being held back by anything.

Seguchi, with his smile in place, opens the door. What I see makes me sigh with relief and then tense up in anger and terror.

The one I've been searching for is there. Shuichi is lying on a bed on the other side of the room, seemingly sleeping. It was Mika sitting next to him, tracing the edge of a blade with her fingers that made me angry and frightened.

Her eyes reach mine, and she smiles, walking to a far corner, away from Shuichi. I rush to his side, feeling his face and hands. He seems so frail from the last time I saw him. I kneel next to him.

"Wake up, brat," I urge, softly. He doesn't move at all. I gently tap his face. "Please, Shuichi, get up; it's me."

Someone else's P.O.V.

The warmth is so intense, now! I think it's coming from the person who's telling me to wake up. I wasn't even aware I was asleep!

Try as I might, I can't do it. Why?

I want to look upon the face of the one who has been giving me such joy all this time.

"Shuichi no baka! Wake up, damn it!"

So my name is Shuichi? Wow. It's strange. That voice sounds very familiar. I feel guilty for not knowing it…

There's a tiny splash of something wet on me, now.

"Why won't you get up, Shu?"

"Enough, Eiri," the evil voice that hurt me says. "It's no use. Even beating him won't work."

Why is the evil voice with my happy voice?

Yuki's P.O.V.

No matter what I do, Shuichi doesn't move. And before long, I find myself crying.

"Why won't you get up, Shu?"

A hand falls on my shoulder.

"Enough, Eiri," Seguchi whispers. "It's no use. Even beating him won't work."

I shrug the hand away, suddenly seeing an ugly bruise on one side of Shuichi's face.

"You beat him?"

"What else would I do with a comatose body that pisses the hell out of me?"

I turn to him a bit. That did not sound like something Seguchi would normally say. His hand begins to reach for Shuichi. Angrily, I turn around and give him a long-overdue punch in the gut. He doubles over in pain then quickly recomposes himself. I narrow my eyes at him.

"If you touch hi, again, I'll kill you!" I roar, causing Mika to gasp.

Seguchi licks his lips in anticipation. "My, I've never seen you this way, before. It's very attractive."

"Don't you even care about the band?"

"I can find other, better ones."

He steps closer and holds me in a tight embrace.

"Stop this!" I hiss. "Why do you have this stupid crush on me? You're married to my sister, damn it!"

"Eiri, I've always loved you. More than anything else in the world, in fact! But I've lost you far too many times due to my immaturity and my stupidity. I took you to America and practically destroyed you when Kitazawa showed up. After he was gone, I thought you were lost, forever! So, I married Mika to stay close to you. Then after you got together with that—that child, I could have killed myself! Instead, I waited but never seemed to get my chance at you in between your little break-ups. And now, you've been together for two years. I'm tired of losing my chance at you, Eiri! I'm taking matters into my own hands, dreaming or not! I don't care about anything else. Mika!"

At that, he holds me tighter and the Mika-clone walks toward Shuichi, knife still in hand. I watch as she presses the thing against his throat and quickly slashes him. All the while, Seguchi's warm breath bathes my ear.

"You know how they say if you die in a dream, you die in real life?" he purrs.

I watch in horror as Mika adds more slashes across the singer's body. Once the full extent of what Seguchi said hits me, I throw the man across the room. Again, the bastard still has that eerie smile.

Something inside me snaps and before I know it, I'm all over him. My attacks are wild and full of rage and panic. I haven't felt this way since that night with Kitazawa and his thugs. Soon, I'm thrown back with arms and legs pinned by Seguchi. With one hand holding my wrists, he uses the other to caress my cheek.

"I'm sorry, Eiri," he sneers, "but you are powerless against me in this world. I'll tell you what. If you promise to be mine, then I won't let anyone else hurt Shindou-san."

I try again to wriggle out of his grip but to no avail. Damn. He's stronger than he looks. I glare at him and ask, "Seriously? You swear on Mika and your unborn child that no one will hurt him?"

His face becomes thoughtful. "Well, Mika was never really pregnant… and probably never will be… I just had her like this to see how she'd look, really. But I'll swear on both of them, anyway. You know I'm a man of my word."

I close my eyes and growl out, "Then I'll be yours."

He leans in for a kiss on my nose and tightens his grip on me.

"I promise you won't regret it," he coos. He turns to the woman. "Mika, throw Shindou-san out the window."

That's when I begin to thrash around in his arms.

"You said no one would hurt him!" I hiss.

"I know. And I'm staying true to my word; no one is going to hurt him; the ground is."

With that, his lips descend upon mine as Mika does as she was ordered.

Someone else's P.O.V.

After the strange cutting feeling on me, I heard the scuffle and the whole conversation that followed. When my happy voice, Eiri, surrendered, I was devastated. I wanted him to stay away from the evil voice and stay be with me, just as I had wanted the blond and pink haired guys to be together. As soon as I heard the comment to throw me out the window, I wanted to scream. Soon after, I felt hands that were neither gentle nor rough grabbing at me. I then had the sensation that I was flying. Or falling. So does that make me this "Shindou-san"? I was really thrown out? I'm going to die without even knowing myself! Or even knowing my happy voice…

Ryuichi's P.O.V.

Kumagoro is a bad driver! I tell him to take me to Shuichi, and he leads me into a mall. Everyone went crazy! They were all over us! I had to steal a lot of costumes and things to get around before we were left alone. But then Kuma led me to a record store. Many fangirls were there. I shudder to think about what happened with them…

After some more detours, we find ourselves behind what looks like Tohma's house to catch our breath. In the distance, I hear, "Mika, throw Shindou-san out the window."

Eep! No way!

I look up and see some pink hair coming out of the top window and soon, the body. I run as fast as I can under him and watch poor Shuichi come down. I hold my hands out and catch him before falling on my butt. A moan comes from him.

I check his whole body to see what damage he's taken. There are lots of cuts all over him and a few bruises here and there, but other than that, he seems to be okay.

"We've got him back, Kumagoro!" I whisper, happily. "Now, let's go hide!"

Putting a stolen wig on Shuichi's head, I stealthily sneak our way to the park.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Yuki's P. O. V.

"You fucking bastard," I growl out.

"Mmm, but yours," Seguchi purrs, running his fingers through my hair. "I'm glad we got rid of that annoyance."

I sigh, very unhappily. It's been only about an hour since… what had happened… Already, Seguchi has gotten me out of my shirt and on his bed, but nothing else. And there has been a lot of heavy-duty kissing on his part. I swear, I could just kill him for not even letting me have a minute to myself to mourn the death of my lover. I have to wonder what goes on in his head.

"So, what now?" I ask. "What happens in the real world?"

"Don't know, don't care," Seguchi replies. "I suppose after you wake up, Shindou's body will already be burned, I'll get better from my cold, I'll announce our relationship and start the whole process for divorce, then Bad Luck will either get a new singer or break-up, and then you and I will be living happily ever after, together."

"Do you know how many people you've hurt with his death?"

"Again, don't know, don't care. I have what I want, and that is all that matters to me. In the end, we'll forget about this ordeal. You'll see."

I turn my head from him. Damn it all… why did this have to happen? All I wanted was to make Shuichi happy by learning how to dance, and in the end, I got him killed. Fuck!

"Oh, Eiri, you're crying!" Seguchi wipes away the tear from my cheek. He sets his head on my chest and starts stroking my arm with his fingers. "Please, Eiri, don't be sad. I promise, I won't ever betray you or become a nuisance. I will love you just as I always have."

And I do doubt that I'll ever love him back.

Someone else's P. O. V… oh, screw that! Shuichi's P. O. V.

It's so strange. After the falling sensation, I didn't feel the splat or whatever it was I should have felt on impact with the ground. But here I am, still in the eternal darkness, where I can think to myself. Maybe I've been dead all along, and no one has noticed… or… I don't know! It actually felt like I was caught or something! And then I heard something like, "We've got him," and then… Grr! What the hell is going on?!"

Ryu's P. O. V.

Oh, this has to be bad! Shuichi isn't waking up! I tried tapping his face and swatting him with Kumagoro, but nothing's been working! It's so frustrating…

In other news, no one chased us! I got us safely to the park and was able to wrap Shu-chan with bandages I stole while being chased (why I took those, I'll never know, but I'm glad I did). Then I waited… For what seems like a long time, now. And I'm bored. Very bored. And I want to do something. But I can't. Oooo!

"Wake up!" I beg, shaking Shu-chan by the shoulder. I frown when there is still no response. I sigh and hug Kumagoro close. "What are we gonna do, Kuma-chan?"

So… Yu-Yu is in a whole lot of trouble, and _he_ tried to kill Shu-chan and me. Yu-Yu's been really sad, so now he's probably being controlled or something… jeez. Things can't get any worse. Ohh…

"Wake up!" I yell, shaking Shuichi more firmly. "Yu-Yu's in trouble, and you're the only one who can help him!"

Still nothing!

Shuichi's P. O.V.

Okay, everyone is yelling at me to wake up! I'm trying, but I can't do it at all! I don't know why… And what is this about helping "Yu-Yu"? Who the hell is that? What the hell is going on?!

Ryuichi's P. O. V.

"What should we do, Kumagoro?" I ask.

I put my dear Kuma on Shuichi's tummy and pat Shu's head… And then find myself in a new place. A very dark place. A scary place. Shuichi isn't around. Nothing is.

"What the hell is going on?!" a familiar voice screams.

I gasp.

"Shuichi, is that you?" I call.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Shuichi asks.

"It is you!" I exclaim. "Where are you?"

There's a pause. Wait! I said his name in this place! Nothing strange is happening. But I thought that I've been everywhere in the dream world… Are we somewhere else? Are we in big trouble? Oh, what do we do?

"Umm… Who are you?" Shu asks.

I blink.

"Can't you recognize me, Shu-chan? It's, Ryuichi!" I bend over and scoop up Kuma from the dark floor. "And Kumagoro is here, too!"

"Are you… gonna hurt me?"

I'm shocked by the fear that was drenched in his words. How much has _he_ hurt him?

"No! Kuma and I would never hurt you! You're like our little brother! We're here to help you. So, can you tell us where you are?"

A pause…

"Here…" Shu whispers.

"Where's that?" I ask, walking further into the darkness.

"I don't know… I'm… here… trapped. My visions are gone, and lately, there have been some voices talking to me. And I've been getting hurt, too. I've even had the feeling that I was falling to my death. Can you tell me what's happening?"

Wow, poor Shuichi. He's so confused. And so much has happened to him that I don't know about! That's so sad… But what are these visions he says he's had? Hmm…

"I'm sorry, Shuichi; I can't really explain anything to you. Can you tell me what those visions of yours are about, though?"

There is a deep sigh. I look around to see where it came from. I still can't tell. I wonder… Am I in some subconsciousness of Shu's? Maybe that's why nothing weird is happening.

"Well, Ryuichi-san," Shuichi starts, "it's weird… They've been about these two people (one who's tall with blonde hair and the other who's short with pink hair) whose faces I can't see. And I don't know their names because every time it seems like they're saying them, there's just no sound, and then the sentence just continues. But every time these two are together, I would see them sharing some… touching moments. And in the end, I feel all happy about seeing them together and getting closer to each other…"

Hmm… So, Shuichi's been thinking about all the good times with him and Yu-Yu. But why doesn't he know that it's all him? Amnesia?

"What about all that pain that you mentioned, Shuichi?" I ask. "And the voices?"

"Those have only happened right here, in the darkness. But I've also had temperatures with emotions visit me. Or would you call that emotional heat?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"There were times when a certain heat comes in… well, different degrees of heat… and I can feel when it's happy or sad. I think it has something to do with someone named Eiri."

I'm confused! I thought just being in _his_ dream world was strange, but Shuichi's situation is just… well, I don't know what to think!

"Hmm… What do you think is wrong, Kuma?" I ask, holding my bunny close. After a second of hearing him out, I nod and say, "Kumagoro wants to know of how you feel when you're in the darkness."

There is silence.

"Usually, I feel really sad and lonely… almost abandoned. When the voices come, I'm completely confused because I don't know what's going on. And when the warmth comes, I have a lot of different feelings. And one of those voices is what causes my pain, I think, so I get very scared when that one comes."

"I see," I reply. "So, why can't you wake up?"

"I can't! Everyone's been yelling at me to do it, but I can't do it! I never even knew I was asleep or unconscious or whatever's wrong with me!"

Okay… I have no clue what to do about all of this. But I promised myself that I would help Yu-Yu and Shu-chan in any way that I can.

"Ryuichi-san? Kumagoro-san? You mentioned that someone was in trouble and that I'm the only one who can help. Um… Why? How?"

"Well," I start, "Shu, you and Yu-Yu are stuck in a dream world that's being controlled by some mystery person. But something's happened, and now, Yu-Yu's in trouble. You're the one who has to save him."

"And what about you? What's your story?" Shu asks.

I grin, wide.

"I was Yu-Yu's self-appointed guide, but since he's gone, I guess I'm yours, now. I was helping him search for you, but now, you're found. Unfortunately, not before Yu-Yu got into hot water while I was being chased by the whole world. The tables have turned. I've got you, but the bad guy has Yu-Yu."

"Why do I have to save him?"

"Because you're the only one who can! Neither of you belong in this world that the mystery person created." I sigh. So much has happened... I'm starting to get sick of it. But I look up and ask, "Shuichi, just how sad do you get when you're here?"

"I already told you, Ryu-san; I feel very sad. As if I've been abandoned…"

Abandoned? I know Yu-Yu would never abandon Shuichi. Kick him out of the house from time to time for a day, yes, but never abandon. Maybe it's something else… There's just a certain level of depression Shuichi can go down to in a world that he doesn't belong in before he'd die. Yu-Yu, too, but the mystery person wouldn't let him die.

Eep! Something's happening! It's like this darkness is melting away! I hold Kumagoro as tight as I can so I won't lose him and close my eyes.

"Hey! One of those visions is coming!" Shu exclaims.

I open my eyes to see that the setting is turning into a snowy world. And I can see Shuichi running past me, singing happily. Wait, huh?

"Shuichi, where are you going?" I ask.

"What are you talking about? I haven't gone anywhere!"

"Huh?"

It takes me a second later to figure out that this has to be a vision of him that I'm seeing. But…

"Shuichi, can't you see that that's you?"

"Me?" he asks, incredulously.

The Shuichi that I can see is singing, "I'm gonna see my Yuki! My dear, sweet, little Yuki!" He stops to catch some snow on his tongue. There's so much snow… Wait, this has to be a reenactment of the day he and Yu-Yu fell in the lake!

"See?!" the real Shuichi's voice exclaims. "There are times when you can't hear words!"

"What do you mean, Shuichi? You were saying that you were going to see your Yuki."

"My what?"

"Yuki! You're going to see Yuki!"

"What am I supposed to see?" he asks.

"Yuki! Yuki, Yuki, Yuki, Yuki! The famous romance novelist!"

"What famous romance novelist?"

"Yuki! Yuki! I call him Yu-Yu, but his name is Eiri Yuki!"

"Eiri? That nice person that tried to defend me?"

"Sure…"

He can't hear Yu-Yu's name the way that he says it? That's so weird! And he can't even recognize himself…

"Ryuichi-san… Why can't I ever see my face in these visions?" Shuichi whispers, frightened.

Gah! I've just been thrown for a loop! What's wrong with Shuichi? He's totally in the opposite situation that Yu-Yu's in! With Yu-Yu, I know almost everything that goes on with him and can explain everything, but I can't for poor Shu… I'm worried…

Meanwhile, vision-Shuichi is at his front door, reaching in his pocket for his keys. He opens the door, and we are all met with a shocking sight. Yu-Yu is sitting against a wall and is being kissed by Tohma! Vision-Shuichi drops his backpack, mouth hanging open.

"You're cheating on me, Yuki?" he squeaks before wiping at some sudden tears, running into the on-coming blizzard.

"Oh, no…" the real Shuichi gasps. "The blond guy would never…"

I look further inside to see Yu-Yu trying to get up and Tohma trying to push him back.

"Forget him, Eiri!" Tohma pleads.

Yu-Yu pushes Tohma and runs out the door.

"Why would he cheat on me?" Shuichi whispers, mournfully. "I thought he… I've heard it in his voice! He really cared about me. So why would he…?"

"Shu-chan, please don't think this way!" I plead. "I've spent lots of time with him since this situation started. You're constantly on his mind! He's always worried about you!"

Vision-Tohma runs after Yu-Yu.

"He… was with another man… he…"

"Just shut up and listen to me, Shuichi!" I yell, waving my arms about. I hear a sob come from Shuichi. "Look, he loves you, I know he does! You guys have been together since I met you! Get it through your pink head! He. Loves. **_You_**. He'd never cheat on you. Didn't you see how he acted towards Tohma? He just pushed him away and ran after you. Obviously, Tohma forced himself on Yu-Yu!"

I can't help but feel really mad at Tohma. Noriko and I have known for a while that he has feelings for Yu-Yu, but I never thought he'd stoop so low… No wonder Shuichi is so depressed.

"Listen, Shu," I continue, "even if he doesn't say so a lot, he really does care for you. He's in really big trouble because he loves you so much. Just remember all the good times you've had. Think about the other visions…"

I take one of Kumagoro's ears and gently gnaw on it. I finally hear a sigh.

"What kind of trouble he is in, now?" my friend asks.

"I don't know. What I do know is that the whole dream city is hunting me down to kill me, and the mystery person had Tohma's look-alike order Mika-san's look-alike to throw you out a window. But he wouldn't hurt Yu-Yu, though; I'm sure. At least… not physically…"

"What do you mean?" Shuichi sounds really quiet, now.

"Yu-Yu would probably really upset once he's told you're dead…"

There's a really long pause. I take Kuma's ear and chew a little on it, again.

"Ryuichi-san?" Shuichi calls. "I want to save Yu-Yu…"

"That's good," I sigh with relief.

The scene begins to melt away. Kuma and I are back in the darkness, but this time we see Shuichi lying on his back in front of us. I walk up to him and shake him, a little. The darkness goes away, and we're back at the park. I begin to shake Shu some more. Shuichi's eyes flutter open, and my eyes begin to water. He blinks and looks around before resting his gaze on me.

"You… You're back!" I cry and throw my arms around him.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, as thanks to Tsuki Aquarius Hanju for her help, earlier, I have decided to put her name in the fic. You'll see how. And now… **

Chapter 10

Still Ryu's P.O.V.

Well, it's been a day since Shuichi woke up. It was kind of funny because with his amnesia, he thought I was a little crazy. Especially when he saw who Kumagoro was. But, anyway, after that, I explained more about the world we are in and some more about our situation. We decided that if we want to go into the city, then we would need to wear disguises since we are supposed to be either dead or missing.

And that's why today we are going through all the stuff I stole yesterday.

"Hmm, what do you think of this wig for Kumagoro?" I ask Shu.

He looks over and blinks a few times. Then he starts to snicker. I look down at the long black hair that's going past Kuma's feet. Then I smile, too.

"Oh, Ryu-san, no matter what, Kumagoro would stick out like a sore thumb!" Shuichi laughs.

"But we can't let him be seen," I pout. "No one else in the city has any of Kuma's brothers and sisters, as far as I've seen." **/1/**

Wiping away the tears of laughter with a pinky, Shuichi digs around for a big shirt and holds it up. "Then hide him under your shirt and pretend you're like Santa."

I smile at him with wide eyes.

"You're a genius!" I cry, doing just that.

Shu-chan smiles and looks at the pile we have.

"Well, what should I wear? I can't believe you were able to carry all this stuff and me at the same time yesterday, but you took a lot of things that girls would wear…"

"Then be a girl."

I try to position Kumagoro on my belly and then grab for the shirt Shuichi is holding for me. He pulls it away from me, though.

"A girl?!" he exclaims.

"Sure! Yu-Yu said you did it twice before. First you were a schoolgirl, and then you were in some icky sunflower dress and had a bad lipstick job. You totally freaked out his dad!"

Shuichi's eyes are wide.

"_I_ did _that_?"

"Yup. You were willing to change yourself for Yu-Yu."

I snatch the shirt from him and put it on. Oh, Kuma looks so weird on me! So lumpy… I move him around a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Shu lean on the rail.

"Willing to change myself for him?" he mutters to himself. "Is he really worth that much?"

"Nope. Not if you look at your relationship through some stranger's eyes. I mean, he was always kind of mean to you, but in a weird way. But you two have been all lovey-dovey for two years, so then I guess he really is."

Shuichi turns to me, a shy smile on his face. "You know, Ryuichi-san, in the visions, I thought I was sort of… clingy and desperate. I felt like I was depending on Eiri too much…"

I sit cross-legged and stare at him.

"You were a little like that in the beginning of your relationship, from what Yu-Yu told me. Between him and the band, you were a little overwhelmed. And in turn, you overwhelmed Yu-Yu. But you changed him. He even told you a really big secret of his that almost no one else knows of and saved him from suicide. Despite how totally opposite you are, you really do need each other." He's got a little frown on his face. I smile. "Don't worry about it!"

He smiles, looking off to the side. "Sure."

"Just remember to sparkle!" He looks at me, blankly. I smile even wider and giggle, "You'll understand when your memory comes back," I assure. "Now let's get back to business. It's time for us to pick fake names! I'll be Captain Kuma!"

Shuichi just bursts out laughing. I go to our pile of clothes, pull out a pretty little dress, and put it against Shu to see how he would look.

"Hey, Ryu-san, what are you doing?" he sputters, throwing the thing to the side.

"You've got the body for a girl. So that's what you'll be!"

"But—!"

There is a little scuffle, but in the end, I get him into the dress and step back to see him. Then I giggle. It's just that… He makes a very cute girl! Maybe it's because of his big eyes and chubby cheeks. Ha, ha! He's blushing like Mars and giving me a death glare!

I turn back to the pile to look for a wig for him.

"Ryuichi-san…" he growls through his teeth.

I take out a short midnight blue wig and arrange it on his head. Hmm… His eyes kind of stand out, especially with the wig having a part down the middle so that the hair frames his face. It's pretty.

"Ryu!" Hee, hee. Now he's whining. Kawaii!

As a joke, I set my hands on his shoulders, look straight into his eyes, and dramatically sigh, "I'm sorry, miss, but you're just not my type."

Shuichi's jaw drops, and he turns even redder. I just go on laughing.

P.O.V. to Yuki

"Come on, Eiri, we need to get ready for work!" Seguchi's voice sings through the house.

"Uhh…" I groan from under the covers. "I'm a novelist, damn it; I set my own work schedule."

"That's in the real world. Here, you're still 'recovering from the stress of deadlines,' so that's not going to work. Now, please, hurry up and get dressed!"

Why is it that he is so cheerful when I feel so dead? Why is it that… Shuichi had to die? Why is it when I love someone, they end up dying?

P.O.V. to Shuichi, er…

If I hadn't done this before, I'd say that this would be the most embarrassing thing I've ever done, dream or no dream. I'm walking through the city in a dress. A dress! And I'm wearing make up! While people are _around_! Never mind that Ryuichi-san is walking next to me with what looks like a gigantic tumor on his abdomen. I'm a girl! And there is a bunch of people staring at me… kind of hungrily… I really want to scream and run away.

As a girl, I am Tsuki Aquarius Hanju. It's a cute name for a girl, and Ryu picked it out for me (actually, he said Kumagoro did). But… oh, why do I have to be a girl?! Why can't I be a fat old goon in a beard with Ryuichi-san? Or why can't he be in the same boat of humiliation as me?

I bow my head in embarrassment.

"Smile, Tsuki!" Ryuichi-san whispers in a sort of gruff voice.

I trip over my heels, and he catches me.

"How can I smile?" I hiss, blushing madly. "Ryu—"

"Ah, ah, ah! What's my name?" Ryuichi-san bellows so everyone can hear.

I sigh. "Jesse Leverentz."

"What? I can't hear you!"

Oh, my god. He looks just like a seven-year-old with that smile, even in the beard. I still can't believe he chose that name. I can feel a vein throbbing in my head.

"Jesse Leverentz!" I belt out in my best girl voice.

I pant while everyone stares at us like we're insane. Ryu, I mean, Jesse Leverentz **/2/** (where the hell did he find that name?) rubs my back.

"See? That wasn't so hard!" he comforts, cheerfully.

I glare at him and ask through clenched teeth, "So what are we doing, again?"

He looks down at me with that smile.

"We're checking to see if our package is okay. Then we'll figure out how to get our package and you back home."

Yay, speaking in codes. At least I know what he means. Check on Eiri and figure out how to get him and me back to our world.

I sigh.

Everything that's been going on with me is just crazy. Since getting out of the darkness, everything is just going by fast—boom, boom, boom! I hope things can get better soon because this is getting ridiculous!

P.O.V. to Yuki

I walk into Seguchi's office, pissed.

"Where the hell is Sakuma?!" I roar.

Once we finally got to the studio, I had convinced Seguchi to let me stay with Bad Luck. When I got to their room, Sakuma wasn't there. Nakano said Seguchi let him go after I left yesterday. I'm pissed that my brother-in-law never told me.

Seguchi isn't in his office, though.

"Seguchi, where the hell are you?!" I scream.

I step into the office and look around. Damn!

Suddenly, I feel two arms encircle my neck. A blond head rests on my shoulder. Well, at least I know where the maniac is.

"Eiri, what's wrong?" he purrs.

"Why did you fire Sakuma?"

He begins to kiss the back of my neck.

"Why—" kiss "—do you—" kiss "—care?"

That is getting annoying.

"Because I like talking to him in this world," I growl.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you'll have to make friends with someone else; the Ryuichi of this world is no more."

I tense up. Did he find out about Sakuma being my "guide"? Shit…

"Why?" I ask, slowly.

"I just didn't like how he was around you, my Eiri." When I turn my head towards him, he tries to nibble at my ear. "But don't worry," he continues in a husky whisper, "I'd never do anything like that to him in the real world; he's one of my most cherished friends! There was just something 'off' about this one… And with the two of you spending so much time together, it was so strange. You never spend time with him in the real world. Out of everyone here, I would have thought you would bond with Nakano, Suguru, or even K."

I throw his arms off me. I turn around and see him smiling, smugly. Rolling my eyes, I leave the office, slamming the door behind me.

P.O.V. to Shuichi

Arg! I'm completely lost! As soon as Ryu-san and I got inside the NG building, Ryu-san suggested we split up to look for Yu-Yu and then just ran away before I could even disagree. He forgot that I'm an amnesiac; I don't remember this place, and despite my visions, I have no clue what Yu-Yu looks like!

So, I'm walking around, not knowing what to do or where to go… What a mess I'm in! Oh, well, at least this place has some nice wood…

"Oomph!"

Oh, no, I walked into someone! I quickly try to get off him.

"Gomen! Gomen nasai!" I apologize.

And that's when I see him. Short blond hair. Piercing golden eyes. Tall and well-built body… He's absolutely gorgeous! I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep the dust from getting in.

The beautiful stranger's eyes glare into mine but then widen in shock.

"Shuichi?" the guy calls.

Oh, no! How does he know? Great, first day, and my cover is already blown. How did I do that?

Suddenly, a fire alarm begins to sound. I look around, frantically looking for an exit until the guy grabs my arm.

"Come on!" he yells and starts pulling at me.

I look back and see what looks like the edge of Kumagoro's ear. What's Ryu-san doing pulling on fire alarms? And where's this guy taking me?

"Sir?" I call.

"Shut up and follow."

My eyes widen. Am I being kidnapped? Is he some sort of hot rapist?

I immediately stand still when he leads me into an open area where people are staring straight at us kind of creepy-like. The guy looks around at everyone then turns around and throws me over his shoulder. That's when I start beating at his back and screaming at everyone. They're just staring at us in shock! Why won't they help me?

Rapist-man runs to some door, throws me in the room, and locks the door. After fixing my dress to cover my secrets, I look around to see if I can hide. But, we're just in some meeting room; only a big table, a bunch of chairs, and a few plants for decorations are in here. Good enough, though.

I quickly jump on the other side of the table and grab a chair to hold high over my head. The blonde guy turns toward me and looks at me as if I'm a lunatic.

"Stay back!" I yell in my falsetto, trying to get a better hold on the chair. "I'm warning you!"

He rolls his eyes at me.

"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself."

"No, you evil rapist-man!"

He lets out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not a rapist, you imbecile!" He takes a step closer to me. "Now put that thing down before I—"

Quickly, I do as he says but keep my tight grip on the back. He sighs, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"Who are you?" I ask. "What do you want?"

He's glaring at me, but I can see something hidden beneath those captivating eyes. He looks to the side, closing them.

"Sorry," he whispers. "I thought you were someone else."

"You thought I was Sh—"

"Don't say that name!" he snaps. I probably look shocked because his eyes become tender, and he explains, "People will look at you strangely if you go around saying that name. I was just being stupid, earlier. That's why I took you with me. Sorry for frightening you."

He begins to leave.

"But, sir—"

"Maybe we'll meet again some other time. Sorry for frightening you."

And that's when he goes. I sit in the chair, dazed.

Wow, he knew me! Well, my name. But at least that's something! He seemed awfully lonely, though…

The door swings open, and I look up. It's Ryuichi-san who's looking all cheerful. He pulls up a chair across from me and takes a seat, watching me, expectantly. His hand goes under his shirt, and he pulls out Kumagoro. I smile, sweetly at him, remembering the incident from earlier.

"It was you who pulled that alarm, wasn't it?" I ask.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to do that, and I just couldn't resist! But more importantly, it got Yu-Yu out of that daze."

My jaw drops.

"That was Yu-Yu?! Eiri? My happy voice?!"

His eyes widen.

"You didn't know?" I shake my head, still in shock. And suddenly, everything just turns pink; Ryu-san had thrown Kumagoro at my face. It causes me to fall back in my chair. "How could you not know?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm an amnesiac! I didn't know how he looked!" I sputter, throwing the bunny back at him. Ryu-san catches him, easily, and nuzzles him against his cheek.

"I know that, but didn't you recognize anything else about him? His hair, his voice, his attitude? That fact that he said your name?! No one in this town has your real name or would be able to say it unless talking to Yu-Yu to get him to think you don't exist!"

My face is red though from embarrassment or anger, I can't tell. But oh crap…

P.O.V. to Yuki

That girl… She looked so much like Shuichi. She even sounded and acted like the baka! But she must have been some pawn of Seguchi's that was being used to tease me. One would think Seguchi would try to get me to top thinking of Shuichi!

"Yuki-sama!"

I turn to see K coming up behind me.

"What do you want?" I ask, not in the mood to see any more illusions.

"Seguchi-sama was getting worried about you because the alarm went off."

"Well, tell him I'm fine; I don't need to constantly be watched over."

"He wants to see you—immediately."

"Well, I want to be alone." I pull my arm from his grip and begin to walk away. I hear the sound of a gun being cocked and stop. Chuckling, I reply, "You wouldn't dare."

A sigh. "You're right." By now, he's lowered the gun.

"Good. Because I don't think Seguchi would take it too well if any harm came to me." Once again, I begin to leave. "Anyway, I'll see Seguchi when I feel like it."

**/1/: You know how whatever company Kuma comes from would manufacture a whole bunch of Kumas? That's what Ryu meant.**

**/2/: I honestly don't know where I came up with Ryuichi's alias… Heh, in a week I probably will figure it out and end up smacking myself. Whatever, I think I'll change it later on…**

**I really do think that Tsuki's name is really cute!! Thanks for letting me use it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Well, I'm going to be honest with all of you. I finished this chapter a few days ago. I know, I know, I should have updated at that time, but the typing caught up to my writing, somehow, and, well, yeah. Oh well, I said that this chapter would be coming two weeks after the last one, and I've stayed true to my word.**

**Chapters 1, 2, 4, and 8-10 have all been corrected. They finally make sense, now, and are easier to read. Yippee skippee… As for chapters, 3 and 5-7, well… I don't know. I'm still working on those for some strange reason. Oh, well.**

**Anyway, get on with the chapter!**

Chapter 11

Shuichi's P.O.V.

"Are you mad at me?" I ask Ryu-san, timidly.

After the incident in the studio, Ryuichi and I did a little shopping and went back to the park. We're toasting marshmallows by a nice big fire.

Ryu adds some more firewood.

"Now why would I be mad?" he asks, a broad smile gracing his round face.

"For not… for not knowing him…"

He giggles as he stokes the fire. I sigh, sadly, as I roll my stick to begin toasting the other side of my marshmallow. My glance slips to Kumagoro, who has his own marshmallow on a stick that's stuck in the ground next to him.

"We got in there and did what we came to do," Ryu-san continues, putting his stick right in the fire. "Yu-Yu seemed to be doing well, though, didn't he?"

I wait until he pulls out the stick and blows out the marshmallow before saying, "On the outside… He seemed like a tortured soul more than anything else."

"So you've notice… Well, you're right, he is, but I don't know why; he never completely opened up to me. And it might also have to do with whatever _he_ has said or done with him over the last day."

I sigh again and stare at the sunset. This is so frustrating. All I want is to get out of this damned world and get my memories back. Oh… but Yu-Yu—er, Eiri—was something else… There was just something about him. I couldn't help but feel a sort of pull when I was with him. Of course, I didn't notice it when I thought that he was kidnapping me, but now I feel like I really need to be near him.

I smack myself upside the head. I can't believe I called him a rapist.

"Stupid, stupid," I mutter.

"Tsuki! Fire!"

I look up to see that half of my stick is on fire. Frantically, I wave it around. Ryu-san is laughing hard. Frowning at him, I throw the stick on the ground and stomp on it. Ryu-san comes over and inspects the treat that has somehow survived.

"Oooh," he squeals. I cock my head to the side. "It's all nice and black!" He looks up at me with wide, pleading eyes. "Can I have it? Please, Tsuki! Or, or we can trade!"

Silence comes between us. Closing my eyes, I smile and nod. He gives a shrill squeal. I have to laugh.

P.O.V. to Yuki

I had spent the rest of the day walking around in the city. Without having a man with the mind of a child around, my own mind wandered. I had thought about going to the park, but I only made it as far as the candy shop I was dragged into at the beginning of this mess. I would have gone further, but with the feeling of being watched, I didn't want to risk it. So, I found myself sitting in front of a pet store, legs to my chest and arms on top.

I've been sitting like this for a while, now. A few hours, maybe.

"Damn. What should I do now?" I ask myself.

"Come home with me," a voice says. "To a nice, warm home where you can rest and just forget about your problems."

I rest my chin on my arms. "Stop stalking me."

"Eiri, I'm not stalking you," Seguchi whispers. I sigh and close my eyes as an icy hand rests on my own. "You know I care about your happiness."

"You _care_ about my _happiness_?" I ask, incredulously. "That's hard to believe, given the speech you gave me, yesterday! If you cared about my—"

He clutches my chin and pulls me into yet another kiss. But this one is different from all the rest. It seems as though he's trying to prove something. He gently pulls away. I close my eyes to stop from seeing his pleading ones.

"If you cared about my happiness, you wouldn't have gone to such extremes to get rid of Shuichi!"

Shit. I said it, yet again. I move to run away but am stopped by Seguchi's hand. I look up at all citizens who are staring at us and then down at him. He waves his other hand at the people, and they all go on with their lives.

I slide down the store's glass and sit the way I was before. Seguchi sighs, resting his head against my shoulder.

"Eiri. I want you to do whatever you want with me," he whispers.

What the hell does that mean? Is he joking around? Because there are a lot of things I'd like to do to him, and I don't think he'd enjoy any of them.

"Whatever I want?" I ask.

"Whatever you want."

"Even kill you?"

"Even kill me," he repeats.

Almost eagerly, I clamp my hands around his slender neck and begin to squeeze. His eyes slip shut, but I can see the discomfort already setting in.

I can't believe it. I'll have my chance at him. To get rid of my own nuisance!

"Do you know how many people you've hurt?" my voice rings through my head. Damn it!

Sighing, I drop my hands and lean my head against the glass behind me. Seguchi gasps for air.

"It's not worth it," I explain. "It wouldn't undo what you've done, and I'd be no different from you; Mika would be devastated if you were dead. I'd just be even more miserable than I already am.

"You are just as innocent as you were eight years ago, Seguchi wheezes.

Heh, innocent. Yeah, right.

"Whatever," I scoff.

We sit together in silence. Various animals are yipping and calling behind us. The world is going by so peacefully in its fake twilight.

"Don't wallow in your grief, Eiri," Seguchi warns. "I can control you any way I want if you do. Overpower you, even. I don't want to, though. I want Eiri Yuki, not some mindless drone; I already have several in real life. I would never want you to be a submissive twit."

"Then what is it you truly want from me?"

He sighs, gets up, and turns to the store. He begins to coo at some of the animals. Annoyed, I get up and walk away. Seconds later, he's back by my side but this time with a yipping mutt.

"I really have no clue what I truly want from you, Eiri. "The mutt licks his nose, and he laughs. "But I do know that I've always wanted to be near you, to know you are always safe, to know that no one can ever harm you."

"I _was_ safe! No one was harming me!"

"You are blind! Shindou—"

"The brat saved me from myself!"

"He corrupted your mind and opened old wounds. They're getting even bigger as they slowly eat away at you! You're not the same man!"

"Up until recently, I was never really a man!"

"Eiri!"

By now, all the people are gone. We are in the living room of his house. The only thing that's remained from the city is the pup. I find myself glaring at him. His eyes are drooping in sadness.

"I love you, Eiri…"

"It's only an obsession."

I swear, he's got a screw loose. Does he even know what he's saying any more?

"Eiri…" he growls. The pup starts whining. I look down at it and see that Seguchi's crushing it. I reach for it, but he pulls it away. Fire flashes through his eyes. "I'm not going to lose! Not to a dead brat! You are mine! Eiri Yuki. Eiri Uesugi. It doesn't matter what name you take. I will do whatever it takes to keep you!"

"You're mad!" I scream, taking the now wailing mutt from him. "And it's time to end this! To preserve what little sanity you have left!"

Setting the pup down, I run to the kitchen and rummage around the cabinets. I pull out a fork just as Seguchi skids into the room. He is open-mouthed and horrified when I hold the fork to my throat.

"Eiri… What are you doing?" he asks, calmly, as he takes a step forward. "You wouldn't really do this, would you? My beautiful Eiri?"

"Stay back, Seguchi!"

What the heck should go here? Something is missing!!!

Oh, god… What's happening to me? Everything's going blu… blurry… and hurts… I drop the fork and fall to the ground.

"Eiri? What's wrong?" Seguchi's voice faintly calls. "Eiri? Eiri!"

P.O.V. to Ryuichi

"Ah!" Shuichi screams, clutching his head.

I drop my last graham cracker and run to his side. His body is writhing in pain.

"Tsuki? What's wrong?" I ask, panicked.

"It hurts, Ryu-san! It hurts too much!"

I quickly hold him up and try to massage his back. He lets out one last scream before suddenly collapsing in my arms. His breathing is shallow, and he's got a tight hold of my shirt.

Oh, no… I know what's going on. He's only passed out— for now. I had hoped he would have more time; he won't last in this world much longer. I hope Yu-Yu isn't in the same boat as Shu!

P.O.V. to Shu

Ah! Oh, no! I thought I escaped! No, not the darkness! No, no, no… At least it's nice and cozy and warm, this time.

"Shuichi?"

"Oh, Ryu-san!" I exclaim, turning around. "You've gotta…" as soon as I see the person before me, I stutter the rest "…h-help…m-me…"

I almost melt within the relieved gaze that the one and only Eiri is giving me. And a second later, I find myself nearly suffocating in his arms. I gently return it. He buries his face in the crook of my neck.

"Please don't let me wake up from this dream," he mutters.

I let him hold me a little longer before pulling away.

"But Eiri, I don't think this is a dream," I whisper, caressing his cheek.

There's a flash of disappointment in his eyes as he says, "What else can it be? You never call me that. And besides, you're…"

He brings me back into his arms. I laugh.

"Because I'm supposed to be dead, right?" That causes him to hug me tighter. I smile. "Well, I'm not! Ryuichi-san saved me when I was thrown out the window."

"Damn it, Shuichi, Sakuma is gone, too."

"No, he isn't. Everyone in the city was chasing after him, but he got away and saved me. Now we're both hiding in the park."

"Serious?" He pulls away and feels my face, carefully, as if it was very fragile. "Why didn't you wake up that one time?"

"I couldn't. Ryu-san figured it had to do with the depression I got when I thought you were cheating on me."

"Oh, god, Shuichi, I never kissed him. He came on to me after he did me a favor." He cups my cheek and leans close to my ear. "It doesn't matter, now. Just… Say my name. I've got to hear it from you."

"Eiri," I whisper, suddenly thinking that it doesn't sound right.

"Baka," he chuckles. "You know what I mean."

"Umm…" Eiri pulls away from me, and I look down, guiltily. "Sorry… I've got amnesia, so I don't know it…"

There's some silence, but then he smirks with a sympathetic smile. "Leave it to a baka like you to forget something like that."

"Hey! I'm not a baka!"

His shoulders shake as his beautiful laughter cascades from his lips. It's so good to see him laughing. It makes me feel so very happy. This is way better than how I saw him in the studio.

"Whatever," he replies. "It's…"

"What?"

"My name," he starts, his eyes almost boring into mine, "is…"

I blink at him. His lips moved, but nothing came out after the "is". Why can't I hear the name?

"Sorry, Eiri. I can't hear it, whatever that name is."

"It doesn't matter, Shuichi," he sighs. He looks around, as if just noticing the darkness. "I don't suppose you know where we are? Because I was just in Seguchi's house before I blacked out and found myself here."

My eyes widen at the name. I haven't heard it since the window incident.

"Seguchi's the one who hurt me, right?" I ask, shuddering.

"Don't worry about that; it's all in the past."

"K."

Nestling my head under his chin, I happily sigh. Eiri chuckles.

"To think, this whole mess started because you wanted to dance…"

"Huh?"

He messes up my hair, simply saying, "Never mind."

I smile and take his hand, gently caressing it. "You know, Eiri, even though I don't remember much, I can tell you've done a lot for me. I don't want you worrying about a thing. I promise you that I'll be the one to get us through all this dreaming stuff."

"Baka," he chuckles. "I'm not going to let you doing anything like that on your own."

"I won't be totally alone! I've got Ryu-san and Kumagoro-chan to help!" He bursts out laughing. I frown.

"Yeah, but you forgot one thing," he points out, "how do we get out of this dark place?"

I kiss his hand. "I don't know… And really, I don't care, as long as I'm with you, for now."

"Well, then, let's just go to sleep. I'm tired as hell."

Gathering me in his arms, he lets himself fall back. I sigh into his chest as he softly combs my hair with his long fingers. The steady beating of his heart and the rise and fall of his chest are gently lulling me to sleep.

"When we get back to the world," Eiri whispers, "go over to NG and find me in the lobby. We can go to the park or something and we can catch up."

I smile as I reply, "Okay, I'll remember that."

**A/N: The** **thing with the burnt marshmallow… I have a friend who eats those. I don't know, I think it's a little strange. Just a little…**

**Gah, this ending is so sappy! XD! Or something pretty damned close to it!**

**Anyway, after finishing this, I had one of those moments where you get so frustrated about what you're working on that you give up and throw your stuff at the wall. So I'm very stuck, again. Gomen, minna! I will try my very hardest to get at least one more in by the day before Thanksgiving!**

**Ja ne.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay, I have no clue how I was able to finish this chapter before Thanksgiving. I mean, I finished it just yesterday before school ended! But I think this is pretty satisfying…**

**Anyway, I didn't really have time to do too many corrections, so if things don't make sense, I am so sorry! Well, that's all, for now….**

Chapter 12

Ryu's P.O.V.

"Oh, Tsuki… Wake up!" I whisper in Shu-chan's ear.

It's morning, now, and I've gotten dressed for the new day. Well, except for Kuma. Anyway, Shu's sleeping, I know that for sure even after that scare last night. Kuma and I are just bored and want to play with Shu.

"Wakey wakey!" Kuma says, tickling Shu's nose. That gets Shu to scrunch up his little nosey. His eyes open and grow wider than usual. He scrambles away from us.

"Gah! Who the hell are you?" he cries. I pull off the beard, and he calms down, a hand clutched to his chest. "Don't do that, Ryu-san! You scared me half to death!"

I grin and turn to find the box of graham crackers from yesterday.

"You know, I think I'm in the mood for sushi," I announce.

"Sushi?" he asks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him tapping his chin, muttering, "There was something…"

I cock my head to the side. "Is there something you want to get, Tsuki? We can go shopping again, if that's what you want.

"No, no there's something I need to do…" He stares off into the distance for a second, then perks up. "Eiri! Oh, my gosh, Ryu-san, it was Eiri!"

"What about him?"

"Ryuichi, Kumagoro, I saw him!"

"Yes, I know you did," I say, slowly, while nodding my head and giving him a weird look.

"No, no! Remember yesterday when I was in pain? I went back into the darkness, and he was there with me!"

"Really?" I turn to him, cracker hanging in my mouth. "You even spoke to him?"

"Yeah…" His body instantly relaxes, and he has a big, dreamy smile. If it could, his body would turn into goo. He shakes that pink head of his. "Ryu-san, he was wonderful—even if he called me did call me a brat and a baka. I've gotta go see him at NG today!"

I laugh out loud. "Well, you can't; it's too risky to go in there after the stunt I pulled."

He crawls toward me and puts.

"But I promised him! I have to go!"

I quirk an eyebrow.

"No," I state.

Pursing his lips together, he sighs. Crawling over to our pile of junk, he finds his wig and some new clothes. As soon as he gets himself situated to his liking, he stalks off toward. I throw Kuma-chan at his head, and he ends up falling face-first into the ground.

"Oh, come on! That wasn't even as bad as the Kumagoro Beam!" I yell.

"Ryu-san!"

I sigh, feeling a little headache coming on. "Fine. If you're going to go, at least put on some make-up to hide the little owies you still have." He blushes and comes back with Kuma cradled in his arms and kneels in front of me. I get his stuff and start helping him. "So, how was your reunion with Yu-Yu?"

"Eiri—he hates that name."

"Yes, yes, I know. But as soon as you learn to call him 'Yuki', you won't have to worry about names for him."

"Learn to call him _what_?"

"Just tell me what happened!" I snap.

"Jeez, testy, testy! I never knew you were so crabby in the morning."

"Tsuki!"

I grab his face with both hands, staring straight in his eyes. He's right. I'm not myself today. But I'm so worried; I don't know how much time he has left. I haven't even told him that he could die! He doesn't know, at all, how serious things are getting.

Shuichi wipes away a tear that's managed to escape from my eye.

"Ryu-san?" I can't hold them back. The tears cascade down my face, and I burrow my head under his chin. "Ryu-san, don't cry! I'm sorry! Here, um, well, I explained that you and I aren't dead, and I told him about my amnesia. Then I told him that I would get us out of this world and set up our little date. That's all, so please stop crying."

I let the tears fall a little more before using my sleeve to wipe them off.

"Tsuki, I could never keep you from him. Just… don't be a dumb-dumb when you get over there. I want you to be very careful in the city."

With something like hope in his eyes, Shuichi asks, "You're not coming?"

"Nope. This one's like a date for you. Two's company, three's a crowd, ne? I'm sure you'll be fine once you're with Yu-Yu. I won't even think of spying on you!"

His eyes become all sparkly. I smooth out his wig and offer him a cracker.

P.O.V. to Yuki

My eyes flutter open at the gentle fingers running up and down my arm. Seguchi's worried face is the first thing I see.

"Eiri? How are you feeling?"

I take a minute to think about that. How do I feel? I feel magnificent! Definitely more lively. Now I can't wait for the day to get started.

Smiling sweetly, I say, "Let's go to NG as soon as possible."

His eyes are soaked with fear. "Oh, no, Eiri. No, no, I can't do that."

My eyes narrow. "And why not?"

"What if I'm not there when you have another attack?"

"I'm sure your cohorts can handle it."

He suddenly becomes skeptical.

"Why do you want to go so badly now when you've never wanted to before?"

"Because I'm feeling particularly good today."

"Are you sure you'll be able to go?"

"Yes," I exasperatedly sigh.

"Alright. I'll trust you on this."

Without even a second thought, I reach over to my bureau and take out the now half-full box of pocky. My fingers fumble around the contents before I take out a stick. It's to compensate for the one I missed yesterday. As soon as it goes to my mouth, I see Seguchi staring, incredulously, at me.

"Strawberry pocky? I thought you hated artificial strawberry flavoring!"

Oh, shit. I completely forgot I was hiding it from him. I don't like the fact that I'm forgetting a lot of things lately. Might as well just play like I do like this stuff.

"Well, I changed my mind." I reply, waving my hand at him. "Does it matter?"

"You never even bought it! I would know if you have."

"You must have missed when I did, you stalker," I snap. "Now leave so I can get dressed."

Trying to contain his anger, he goes out and quietly shuts the door. Grinning evilly, I lie back in bed and finish the rest of my pocky.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Eiri?" Seguchi asks as we step into the studio.

"Yes, I answer, rolling my eyes as I situate myself in one corner of the room. What am I, his child?

My eyes dart around to find Shuichi. Where the hell can he be? My gaze drifts back to Seguchi, who hasn't left. He's watching me with concern. It's getting me nervous; I don't want to risk Shuichi's life again.

"You can leave, now," I urge.

"I know, but I just want to make sure."

"Seguchi…" I growl.

He steps forward and brushes some hair out of my face. I stand stalk-still, allowing him to do this.

"Eiri-san?" a soft voice alerts.

At hearing it, I practically shove Seguchi out of the way to meet a pair of familiar amethyst eyes. Except they aren't the eyes I want; they belong to the girl who ran into me yesterday. But they are sparkling as she looks upon me. Her thin arms hooks around mine as she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Eiri, who is this?" Seguchi's voice rings with a hint of jealousy. "I've never seen her before!"

The girl lets go of my arm and bows low before him.

"I apologize for introducing myself earlier, sir. I'm Tsuki Aquarius Hanju. I'm here for my date with Eiri-san."

"Date?" Seguchi asks, incredulously.

I turn my head to her so my brother-in-law can't see me as I mouth, "What date?"

Soft hands frame my face and she pulls my head to her level.

"It's me, Eiri!" she whispers. "I didn't forget what you told me in the darkness."

My eyes widen with shock. Oh, god, no wonder I didn't recognize him. I can't believe he's gone back to cross-dressing… Well, at least he looks hot this time. His make-up is good, too.

I smile and give him a small kiss on the cheek, earning myself a quick giggle. Standing tall, I put an arm around him and turn back to Seguchi.

"Yes, we have a date," I state almost proudly. Seguchi is dumbfounded as he gapes at Shuichi. The "girl" shifts nervously behind me. "Is this a problem?"

That snaps Seguchi out of his stupor. But your condition…"

"I'm not going to let something like that stop me from going out with her," I quickly answer. "I met her yesterday after you happened to tell me to 'make new friends.'"

He leans toward my ear. "I also said, yesterday, that you were mine. Now I find you going on an outing with a fake girl that happens to look like Shindou. What on earth are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to have fun before I go to the hell that is the real world."

He pulls away and watches Shuichi.

"Fine. Have your fun," he sighs. "But may I speak to her for a minute? I think you owe me that much."

I look down at Shuichi, who is pouting at me, impatiently. Damn. If I let him go… well, anything could happen. But, it also seems to be the safest route.

Lifting his chin, I give Shuichi as much of a reassuring smile as possible. "Tsuki-chan, Seguchi would like a word with you. Will that be all right?"

Her eyes widen, and fear flashes through them. I try to urge her with my eyes to agree. She does.

P.O.V. to Shuichi

As soon as Eiri said that name, I began to shiver. The blonde man stands next to us.

"Of course it will be all right, Eiri; I own her," he growls wickedly.

"Still ruining my fun," Eiri grumbles.

"As long as you try to resist," Seguchi-san replies and begins to pull me away from Eiri. I get dragged into a stairwell despite my struggles. Seguchi-san then spins me around, his eyes studying me closely. It makes me feel restless.

"Seguchi-san? What's wrong?"

"Why do you look like Shindou?" he asks, but it sounds more like he's talking more to himself than to me. He sighs and glares to the side. "What are you doing with Eiri, girl? What is this date about?"

"Um. I… Eiri-san asked me out yesterday, so…"

"Why wasn't I informed?"

I shrink back from the tone of his voice. He's so scary! And with those eyes! He steps toward me and grabs my hand in an incredibly tight grip.

"When you come back from your 'date', I want you to report to me and tell me all the details." I try to pull away, but his grip becomes even tighter. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it!" I cry.

He throws my arm away so roughly that I stumble to catch up with it.

"Good," he fumes. "Now go."

He doesn't have to tell _me_ twice! I quickly rush out the door and find myself running into someone's arms.

"Hey, are you all right?" Eiri's soft voice asks. "That bastard didn't hurt you, did he?" I look up and shake my head, tears coming up. He gently strokes my hair. "Come on, let's go."

He takes me by the hand and leads me out of the studio.

Ryu's P.O.V.

I know I told Shu that I wouldn't watch over him, but I can't help feeling so worried! It's one thing if Yu-Yu does is going off without me and another when Shu does.

Anyway, looking in the building from the glass, I saw Tohma pull him away. I was so panicked that I almost pulled my hair out. Then Shu left, unscathed, with Yu-Yu (though he was in tears). But as soon as I moved to follow them, I heard Tohma scream, "K!"

That scared me so much! But once K gets over there, I sneak inside to hear them better.

"Yes, Superior?" K calls back.

Superior?! Tohma is the Superior?! The _he_ who's kept dear Shu and Yu-Yu stuck in here for all this time?! I don't believe it… All this time… I suppose it makes sense, but still!

"Did you see that girl who just left with Eiri?" Tohma demands.

"Yes, I did."

"Why didn't I know she existed? She's been around for at least a day, so why didn't I?"

K walks behind Tohma and starts rubbing his shoulders. "I'm not sure, Superior, but you've been under a lot of stress lately. Maybe you didn't know, but you forg—"

"I would know her eyes!" Tohma roars. "They are the same as that damned Shindou's and I had him killed!

"Calm down, Superior. If it will make you feel better, I will watch over her very closely."

Tohma looks up at K and cups his face with his gloved hand. "Thank you so much, K. I always appreciate your help, whether you are real or not. I don't know what I would do without you."

I quickly run outside to get away from those two. Oh, dear. Shu-chan is in trouble. Why am I not surprised? Well, as long as he stays in the park, I don't think we'd have to worry… unless K decides to search every nook and cranny of the world to find him. Eep!

Shu's P.O.V.

I can't help but keep my head down as Eiri leads me through the city. It's just… That Seguchi... He's crazy! And not in a fun way, either. I mean, with how I heard him try to win Eiri over…

When I feel Eiri nudging my ribs, I look up and see we're in front of a candy store. Turning to face him, I'm met with a dazzling smile before Eiri pulls me inside.

"Umm, Eiri? What are—"

"Getting your favorite snack," the blond replies.

He takes out a box from a shelf, pays for it, and gives it to me. It's strawberry pocky. Smiling at his sweetness, I open it and take out a stick to munch on.

"Remember anything, yet?" Eiri asks. I blink a few times and think. Then I shake my head and reach into the box to offer him a few sticks. "Nah, you eat them. I hate that stuff, anyway, even if I've been eating a few every day."

Curiously, I turn my head to the side. "Why do you eat them if you don't like them?"

Golden orbs turn to me, then ahead. Finally, he sighs, "I guess I wanted to still feel connected to you."

Oh… he's so sweet! No wonder I fell for him!

We're finally at the park. More specifically, at the campsite. It looks like Ryu-san never cleaned up because our pile of clothes is all scattered and all our food hasn't even been put away. I smile, apologetically, at him before fixing up. But before I can do pick up the first few scattered pants, Eiri pulls me from the site and guides me toward the railing. He wraps his arms around my waist and nuzzles my cheek.

"Just picture this," he whispers with a smooth, silky voice. "It's night time—sort of late. The sky is dark, only a few stars are out, and the city is lit up with its usual lights…"

At the pause, I turn my head. His lips brush my forehead, and his arms hold me firmly as he continues, "You're standing here, thinking about God knows what, with a sheet of paper in your hand, one containing a few lyrics to a song that you have yet to finish. You let out a sneeze which blows those lyrics out of your hands." He lets go of me and pulls away several feet. "And I am the one who takes it from the air."

Oh, wow! This sounds so romantic! Eiri is so dreamy.

"You turn to see me standing here with a cigarette in my mouth while studying those lyrics," he continues, now walking toward me. "I walk to your side, blow out the smoke from my cigarette, and tell you that you have zero talent."

My jaw drops. "You—you bastard!"

He chuckles, "And that's how we met. But for some strange reason, you persisted after me—almost got run over by my car, even. I acted like an asshole, and you stayed with me."

"Asshole?" I look back on all those visions I had and realize he's right. "Why do you act like that?"

"Don't worry about it."

I grin as he puts an arm around me.

P.O.V. to Ryu

I'm sitting just outside of the candy shop. It's the only way to the park, so if the fake K manages to come over here, I guess I can steer him in the wrong direction. Oh, Kuma and I have been here for a long time; the sky is already getting all its pretty colors! Those two had better almost be done!

"Oh, Kuma-chan, what should I do now? You're bored, too, right, na no da? And you must be uncomfortable there on my tummy…"

The sound of feet scuffing the ground comes before me. Oh, great, it's K. He has a thoughtful grin.

"My, my, I didn't know about this place," he tells himself.

"Don't even bother," I call in the gruffest voice I can muster. I stand up, trying as hard as I can to not reveal dear Kuma. "The scenery behind this shop is just that, a scenery. It's the border."

"Really?" He looks off into the distance. "Have you seen Yuki-sama at all?"

"Nope. Not once, sir."

He is skeptical as he goes inside the shop. When he comes back, he's scowling.

"Yuki-sama was here; the keeper says he bought some stuff with a girl and went out back." Blue eyes narrow at me. "Why have you lied to me?"

Shrugging a shoulder, I reply, "I didn't. I never saw Yuki-sama; I had gone to the city to get myself some sushi, so that's probably when he came. But I doubt he went back. Everyone knows bad things happen if you go past this border."

K stomps his way past me. I turn around and jump on his back. He instantly starts struggling.

"Get off, old man!"

"I can't let you go, K-san! You'll, um, you'll disappear!"

"Yuki-sama went there!"

"Then he's gone!"

One strong hand reaches back, grabs onto the collar of my jacket, and throws me over his shoulders. I land very hard on my back. Slowly, with pain racing through my body, I open my eyes to see with his own eyes wide as he watches me. He steps forward and yanks Kumagoro from under my shirt by the ear. Next, he pulls off my beard. K is shocked.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

"Well, I'm not!" I yell. "Now give me back my Kuma!"

K whips out his gun and points it at Kuma's head. I squeak and cry for him not to hurt Kuma.

"What are you hiding there, Ryuichi?" he demands.

"Nothing! I swear, K! Now give him back!"

K dangles poor Kuma in front of me and smiles, viciously. "Come with me, and you can have your silly doll."

He turns and walks back the way the came with me reluctantly following.

P.O.V. to Yuki

Shuichi sighs. "I don't remember anything, Eiri," he whines. "I'm so sorry."

"Hush, you can't expect it all to come to you all at once," I whisper, pulling him to my chest and stroking his hair as he sobs.

After a second of this, he asks, "You're such a sweet bastard. Why are you so nice to me?"

"To show you that I love you," I whisper, surprising myself with that answer. But it's true. I sigh as I continue, "I hurt you when I let Seguchi kiss me like that. I should have stopped him, no matter how tired I was."

One last sniff and he rests his head to the side. I stare at the deep reds and purples that are now in the sky. I didn't think we'd spent that much time here. Well, time flies.

"It's late, Eiri…"

"Trying to lose me, already? I'm hurt. But I don't want to leave my…" I stop myself before I can say his name.

As if reading my mind, he replies. "Tsuki. Tsuki Aquarius Hanju."

I chuckle. "Where'd you get that one?"

"Kumagoro."

Figures.

Shuichi slowly pulls away from me. He stands on his toes and gives me a chaste kiss. I kiss his forehead.

"I guess I'll go. I'll come back for you tomorrow, all right?"

Shuichi nods. I gaze into his amethyst orbs before leaving.

* * *

Seguchi is waiting on me as he leans against the door.

"Where is she?" he asks, a dangerous glint flashing through his green eyes.

"I took her home."

His eyes narrow to slits. "I told her to see me when you were done with your outing."

"Why? So you can molest her or something?"

"Eiri!" he exclaims, surprised. "I would never cheat on you! I've never even done anything with Mika! I only wanted to talk to that Tsuki girl."

I really hope he hasn't figured out who Tsuki really is. Seriously, all the worry I've been going through, lately is making me exhausted.

Pushing past him, I walk into the house, ready for a shower. As soon as I get into the bathroom, I hear Seguchi screaming, "What the hell is _he_ doing here?!" followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.

Shit! I run back to the door, banging and screaming.

P.O.V. to Ryu

I wince when Tohma yells and slams the door. And then there's the banging that's probably cause by Yu-Yu.

"Seguchi, what's going on? Open the damned door!" his muffled voice yells, panicked.

I'm about to tell him to calm down, but K turns his gun to me. Tohma's eyes are very, very mad, but then he glares at the crazy American.

"I thought you took care of him!" he hisses.

"I'm sorry, Superior. I had no clue about it until just some time ago when I found him on the far side of the city in front of a shop on the far side of the city. And it seems that he is hiding something beyond the shop, as well."

Tohma looks from me to K to poor little Kuma, who I know has to be in a lot of pain. Then he nods.

"I will go to inspect it right now."

"No, Tohma, please don't!" I yell.

Tohma stops and looks at us over his shoulder. "And K? Get rid of Ryuichi the right way and keep Eiri in the house until I return. I won't be long; I'm taking the car."

"No!" I scream.

As Tohma leaves, K throws me against the house. He points his gun at my face as I rub my head. But then I pounce on Kuma, whom he's seemed to have forgotten, and kick the gun out of his hand.

"Kumagoro Beam!" I yell and launch Kuma at K, hitting the crazy man on his back, which gets him to slam his head against the door. I quickly grab Kuma from the air and sprint back to the park.

But I don't think I'll be able to make it!

**A/N: Okay, I'm stopping right here. I know, evil spot. Damn these cliffhangers. But if I keep on going, this chapter would have been even longer than chapter 8… Yeah, that was 14 pages, this is 13. But I'm happy. I was able to watch Gravi's OVA yesterday, so that's where the Kumagoro Beam comes from (if no one knows…). But yeah.**

**Also, I have figured out how I wanted to get to the ending I've had in mind for the fic since the summer. I'm hoping to get this done by New Year's, but that's probably not going to happen… Still, it doesn't hurt to hope… I would say about two or three more chapters… _Gasp!_**

**Well, it's turkey day, tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving, minna-san!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Ohayo, minna-san! After five months, I'm back! Yeah… Sorry this took so long to put out… Part of it had to do with how to end this chapter and stuff… Lots of other things happened, too… And then I moved to the Kingdom Hearts fandom… I'll still be with Gravi, but I'm just saying… Sorry for the wait! Here's the chapter, okay?**

Chapter 13

P.O.V. to Shuichi

When Eiri left, I was dancing around the park. He's such an awesome bastard! But after a few minutes, I got tired and went to lean against the railing where I'm now thinking about how we first met.

Damn, that meeting was so unromantic! I have to laugh because he sounded so sexy with his narration. At least it made me happy. And he only seemed happy when I was happy.

I put my arms on the rail and rest my head on them. Ha, Eiri couldn't tell me much. He kept teasing me with that beautiful body of his. That sweet, sweet bastard.

Although, it kind of ticked me off when he said how his novels often got in the way of us being together. I might just torch his office when we get back to the real world.

There is suddenly the terrible sound of tires squealing as a shiny black limousine drives around the park recklessly, destroying everything that was, unfortunately, in the way. It finally stops over the junk pile. The door opens, and out comes Seguchi-san. He searches the park until his hard green eyes land on me. That alone gets me to run as fast as I can, away from him. In seconds, the car comes in front of me, blocking my path. I turn to run the other way, but then I get tackled to the ground by Seguchi-san grabbing at my legs.

We roll around the ground until I'm flat on my back with Seguchi-san hovering over me and panting hard.

"Why haven't you come to report to me?" he asks. "How long have you known about this place? What secrets have you been keeping from me?

I can't speak. I'm just too scared!

"Answer me, girl!" he screams before slapping me across the face, causing the wig to fly off my head. He jumps off my body as if lightning just struck him. "You're dead!" he gasps as his hands fly to his chest. "You were thrown at the window. I saw it!"

I scoot back on my bum as my voice comes back to me. "Ryu-san and Kumagoro saved me."

He's calmer, now. He begins to darkly chuckle. I scoot even further back.

"I suppose it is true what they say: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself…" I stand up to run away again when he raises his hand. He slowly walks toward me. "However, I will give you one last chance to live. All you have to do is stop seeing Eiri. Break up with him. Do anything so that he won't see you—so that he will forget about you. Otherwise, I'll kill you, myself."

My jaw drops. How can he be so evil?

I firmly shake my head, saying, "I won't—no, can't—leave him, Seguchi-san. I love him too much. Always have, always will. I know it in my heart."

Seguchi-san grabs my shirt and twists, pulling me closer so his breath fans against my skin.

"I will give you twenty-four hours to reconsider, only because you still work for me. After that—" he throws me to the ground "—I will not hesitate to get what I want." His foot moves as if to kick me, but then it stops. He turns and walks back to the car. "Goodbye, Shindou-san," he practically spits out before entering it and driving off.

I pull myself into the fetal position before crying my eyes out.

P.O.V. to Yuki

Finally! After waiting for about an hour, that bastard is finally back!

I wait patiently for him in front of the door even as I hear a thud, followed by Seguchi's voice hissing, "Damn it, K, if you're going to pass out, at least don't do it right in front of the door."

I cross my arms as he opens the door and greet him by asking, "What happened?"

The shorter man blinks a few times before moving to put his coat on the coat rack. He turns to me with a frown.

"Shindou-san just doesn't know when to quit," he replies thoughtfully. Shit, did he? One look at my eyes, he assures, "Don't worry, I haven't done anything to him except give him a little scare. It seems that Ryuichi was able to escape, though. I need to do something about that…"

I clench my fists and ask, "What do you mean 'give him a scare'? What did you do to Shuichi?"

"Other than slap him when I thought he was a girl? Nothing. I only told him to stay away from you."

I burst out laughing at that statement.

"Seguchi, you know that, out of all the threats in the world, that is the one that he'd never follow. He's too love struck and too much of an idiot to do that."

"And that is what I'm hoping for," he answers, looking out the window. "Because if he stays that stubborn by this time tomorrow, then I will not hesitate to kill him."

Angered, I step forth and turn him to face me.

"You lying little bastard! You promised me that—"

"Oh, fuck the promise, Eiri!" he screams. "I said that I wouldn't let _anyone else_ hurt him when I made the promise—I never said that I couldn't do anything! Now please, let me go; I really need to sleep."

He pushes me back a little before going to his room. I try to follow, but the fake Mika gets in my way.

P.O.V. to Ryu

As soon as I get to the park, I sigh with relief. Though everything is all messed up, I can see that nothing terribly bad has happened. But the small whimpers coming from Shuichi's curled up body are worrying me.

"Shuichi, are you okay?" I call, not even bothering to use his alias.

A few sobs are my only reply. I frown and ask, "Tohma didn't hurt you, did he?"

I'm met with more sobs.

Sighing, I step closer to him. I sit down and shift his body so his head can rest on my lap. I slowly stroke his head to calm him a little. A small hand clutches my shirt as his body relaxes. I sigh as I stare at his pink head.

"Well, I guess our safe haven isn't very safe anymore, Shu-chan. There's nowhere for us to hide now… Do you know what we should do?"

I don't get any response. I stop stroking his head and notice that he's fast asleep now, snoring very cutely. I smile as I continue to watch him.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

I wake up to the sound of a plastic bag being opened. Slowly, I sit up and open my eyes to see Shu-chan leaning against the railing, eating from a large bag of chips. I walk over there and lean on the railing, too.

"Chips?" he asks, pointing the opening of the bag toward me.

"No thanks, I'll eat something else."

"It's the only food that didn't get crushed by Seguchi's car last night."

I nod and grab a handful of the stuff. Shu-chan turns to me.

"Aren't you going to ask?" he asks.

"About?"

"About yesterday with Seguchi-san!"

"I don't need to know, Shu-chan; since you're not dead, I know that he probably just scared you and threatened you about Yu-Yu."

He nods. "He says that I've got till sundown to break it off with Eiri and stuff… But I need to talk to Eiri, first."

"Okie dokie, then. Stay here, and I'll try to arrange for him to come here."

"No!" Shuichi cries. I quirk an eyebrow at him. He pouts at me. "Ryu-san, this is something I should do alone. I appreciate all you've done, but this is our story. I was stupid enough to believe that Eiri was cheating on me, Eiri was stupid enough to become a victim, and Seguchi-san was stupid enough to start this mess. We've got to figure this out on our own."

"Shu-chan, I don't want you to get hurt…"

"I know…"

We stay quiet for a minute before I suddenly crush him in a hug.

"You'd better not do anything dumb, okay?"

He nods before returning the hug. Then he waves and runs toward the city. I walk over to where Kuma-chan is lying and wake him up.

"This is no time for sleepy-sleepy, Kuma-chan!" I say before he can grumble at me. "We need to keep an eye on Shuichi!"

P.O.V. to Yuki

My eyes open as soon as I hear the door opening. I focus them on the lone man standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you're awake…" Seguchi mutters.

"Yeah. What do you want now?" I groan.

"I just came to check on you, Eiri. Is there something wrong about that?"

He walks in and sits next to me. I lift myself from the bed and glare at him.

"Why don't you stop all this bullshit? You know that neither Shuichi nor I will give up on each other. The only thing you're accomplishing is stressing yourself out."

"No," he whispers, "I can't. Not until I know for certain that I've lost."

"Newsflash: you lost a long time ago!"

We stare at each other, neither of us willing to stand down.

Slowly, he closes his eyes. "If I've lost, then why do I feel like I have to continue?"

"Seguchi, you're just sick. Take a rest or something and just leave me alone."

He remains silent for a while before just shaking his head.

"I can never leave you alone, my Eiri." He stands up and walks toward the door. "I'll be leaving for some business I need to take care of. Don't leave the house until I come back."

In seconds, he leaves.

I snort. Like hell am I going to do what he says! Something must be wrong with his head right now.

Shaking the remnants of sleep from my own head, I walk over to the window and open it.

P.O.V. to Shuichi

Eiri… Eiri, Eiri… I can't stop worrying about him. Ever since that scary Seguchi came. He's dangerous!! There's no way I'm going to give Eiri to a man like that! Or anyone else, for that matter!

I'm running toward NG now since that's the only place I know that Eiri can be. But sadly, there's this really big headache that's just killing me! I've had it since I woke up today, and it only seems to be getting worse by the minute!

I lean against the wall of the building and take a few deep breaths.

"So, have you decided, yet?" a voice suddenly asks.

I jump several feet in the air before turning to face Seguchi. He has a sort of creepy smile on… like he's just itching to do something… However, I ignore the creepiness and force myself to smile at him.

"Yes, it just so happens that I have," I growl, trying to sound cheerful.

"Oh, really? And what is it?" he urges.

"Well, what do you think I'll choose?"

He lets out a chuckle and runs his hand through his hair. "I have an idea of what it is. Eiri does, too. Nevertheless, you still have until sunset to choose the answer that will not get you… hurt… The one that will allow you to go on with your life and your career."

I glare at the threat and turn to fully face him, setting my hands on my hips.

"Yeah? Well you can piss on whatever time I have left! I'll gladly risk my life for him!"

I almost laugh at him. He seems so shocked by my words. And I haven't even begun ranting, yet!  
"Seguchi-san," I continue, calming myself down just a little since my headache is getting pretty serious, "I don't care what you do or say to me. Nothing will stop me from being with him. I know it may be selfish but… You just can't have him because I love him! I love Eiri Yuki!"

My legs suddenly give way from me as the headache begins to pound at my temples. What the hell is going on with me today? Now can't be the time to have this happening…

I look up a bit to see Seguchi kneeling before me.

"Are you all right, Shindou-san?" he asks, sweetly.

"What did you do to me?" I hiss.

"Nothing, yet. I have no clue what's wrong with you. Maybe this little sickness you seem to have will do you in. That would be good; no blood on my hands."

He stands with a wide smile on that smug face and kicks me in the side. After yelping in pain, I stand, leaning against the wall.

"Bastard," I spit.

Taking one step forward, I hit him in the jaw, despite how this headache is affecting me. Seguchi holds a hand to his bruising cheek.

"You little bitch," he growls out, but I quickly run away.

I run as fast as I can, hoping that Seguchi would be a lot slower when silver bullets begin to fly past me. I frantically look back to see that he has a gun with him. I take a deep breath to keep the damned headache in check before continuing to run.

Before I know it, I stumble into a person's arms. I start struggling as much as I can before I hear, "Shu-chan, stop it; it's me!"

"Ryu-san!" I gasp, clutching his shirt. "You've gotta help me! Seguchi is trying to kill me!"

He looks behind me, then down at me.

"Okay, then. You go hide, and I'll try to hold Tohma off."

"Thank you," I whisper and take off.

But where to go? Seguchi-san knows all the hiding places that are in this world. And of course, there's only one that I know of. Damn it!

P.O.V. to Ryuichi

After seeing Shuichi go off, I turn and run at Tohma, tackling him to the ground. We have a little scuffle, but in the end, I am on top.

"Why, Tohma?" I cry. "Why are you doing this? How can you be so mean?"

"What do you mean, Ryuichi? You know my reasons; after all, I did create you."

"Tohma, you're so bad!" I yell as I grab Kuma from the ground and start hitting Tohma over the head with him. "There's no good reason for you to hurt Shu or keep Yu-Yu here! There's no reason to do any of this!"

"Let me go! I command you!"

"No!"

Tohma gets all frustrated and slams the gun against my arm. I cry out and roll off him, clutching my poor arm to my chest. Tohma runs after Shuichi.

Oh, no… things are going so badly! And the only one who can stop all of this is Yu-Yu! Ohh…

"Sakuma!" a voice calls. The person comes to a halt and helps me up. "What the hell happened, Sakuma?"

"No time to talk, Yu-Yu; Shuichi's in trouble, and Tohma's after him with a gun!"

He looks at me with wide eyes. "Where are they going?"

"I don't know, but I think they're heading towards the park."

"Thanks."

He then runs off after the two. I wait a few minutes, gently massaging my arm, before going after him.

P.O.V. to Shuichi

It seems like I've been running forever with this headache and the crazy blonde. I don't know how I can go on. Oh, yeah. Because every time it seems like I'm going to slack off, Seguchi fires a round at my feet. Does that thing ever run out?

We're at the park, now, and I can't be more grateful as I jump over a bench. A shot blasts off the top of the bench, causing wood chips to fly on me. I frantically look around and find my hope vanishing. There's nowhere I can hide now; the trees are too far from the bench, and I don't think I can make it anymore.

"Why don't you come out?" Seguchi-san cackles. "I need to talk to you."

Another shot is fired at the bench, and I squeal.

"You're crazy, Seguchi-san!" I yell, staring at his feet from under the bench.

"No, I'm only frustrated, Shindou-san. I'm tired of waiting for my chance to get Eiri. He will be mine as soon as I get rid of you."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" I growl.

"Because I'm the only one he can turn to. You don't know Eiri the way I do."

"Well of course not; whereas I'm his lover, you are his crazy-stalker brother-in-law!"

That comment earns me another shot that gets dangerously close to my foot.

"What the hell?" I hear.

I take a peek around the bench to see Yuki standing a few feet away from Seguchi, looking as pissed off as ever. Seguchi looks back at him, surprised. Feeling a little daring, I jump up from behind the bench and call, "Yuki, I'm right here!"

Yuki smiles at me and begins walking towards me. I almost start to do the same when Seguchi fires the gun at me again. Luckily, I jump behind the bench.

"Stop it, Seguchi!" Yuki angrily yells.

"Yeah, Tohma, stop it!" a new voice joins. "You're being all loopy, and Kuma doesn't like that!" Seguchi turns behind him to see Ryuichi bent over and panting. Ryuichi looks up at him and says, "Please don't hurt Shu-chan. Doing that would only hurt you and Yu-Yu even more!"

"I think not, my dear Ryuichi," Seguchi says, turning to Ryu.

As the two begin to talk, Yuki takes the chance to sneak right next to me. He pulls me in a tight embrace, my head resting on his chest. My headache seems to be slipping…

"You're not hurt, are you?" he asks.

"No, no. I'm okay, Yuki."

He tenses. "You just called me Yuki. Do you remember me, now?"

I look up at him and scrunch up my nose in thought.

"Well, yeah, I do. Some things are still a little fuzzy, but I remember a lot of the recent stuff."

"Good."

Yuki fists his and bonks me over the head with it.

"Ow!" I cry. "What the hell was that for?!"

"For ever doubting me in the first place—I would never cheat on you, you brat, especially with Seguchi."

He then pulls me in close for a mind-blowing kiss. I almost lose myself in it until I suddenly hear, "No! Tohma, don't do it!"

And all at once, everything seems to go in slow motion. Yuki holds onto me very tightly and shifts our bodies so that he is between Seguchi and me. The sudden explosion of the gun firing rings through the air. Just over Yuki's shoulder, I can see the bullet coming right at us while Ryuichi and Seguchi-san fight for the gun. I look up at Yuki to see him smiling at me before his eyes widen and he limply falls on me.

"Yuki!" I scream as I try help his body to the ground. "Yuki, speak to me! Why the hell did you do such a stupid thing?"

He smiles and cups my face with one shaky hand.

"Don't you ever question my loyalty to you, brat, you hear?" he rasps. "After all, I've put up with your idiocy for over two years."

"Yuki! Please don't die!"

"Stay away from him, you little cretin!" Seguchi yells.

"Hell, no, you crazy—"

The bastard pushes me away as he drops to Yuki's side. He holds Yuki's steadily bleeding body close to his own, not at all caring about how bloody his clothes would get. A single tear falls down my face as I watch Yuki's chest rising and falling slower and slower with each passing second. Ryuichi has Kumagoro covering his face, covering tears.

Silence goes among us all. I watch as Yuki finally stops breathing. Seguchi pulls his body even closer to him.

"Look what you've done, Shindou," Seguchi whispers into Yuki's hair.

Angered at what he just said, I slap him across the face, causing him to let go of the body.

"What _I've_ done?" I pant. "What _I've_ done?! I've done nothing! _You_ are the one who started all of this. You're the one who made it look like you and Yuki were together that one day. You're the one who put us in this world. You're the one who pulled the fucking trigger!"

I end up in tears again and fall to my knees. Something soft touches my cheek, and I look up to see Ryuichi holding Kuma out to me, his face also stained with tears. I gently smile and push Kuma back to him.

I crawl back to Yuki's body, where Tohma is now staring at his own blood-stained hands. I snort at his actions and lie on the ground next to Yuki, resting my head against his chest. Another tear escapes my eye as I hear the nothing. I sigh, holding Yuki's body close.

"Tohma, you can shoot me now. I don't care anymore."

"Shu-chan!" Ryuichi gasps.

I ignore him and continue, "Just do it. I don't want to live without him."

"Don't say that, Shuichi!" Ryuichi whispers in a small voice. "Lots of people would be sad! Like Hiro and Fujisaki… and me! What about me and Kuma-chan?!"

It doesn't matter anymore. How can I live anymore?

My eyes drift over to the gun, which is still sitting next to Seguchi. I quickly reach for it, only to have my hand slapped away by Seguchi.

"Don't even think about it!" he hisses. Iv I have to suffer, then you must suffer, as well!"

"The hell I am!"

I grab the gun and point it at my head. Seguchi lunges for me, wrestling with my hand. I growl and take out my frustration on him by hitting him again. He stumbles back and wipes the blood off his bottom lip.

The gun is now in my hand, pointed at my head.

"Goodbye, Seguchi," I sneer, slowly pulling the trigger.

"Kumagoro Beam!"

Everything goes black.

**A/N: Yeah… this is what I came up with… I panicked about this ending, but thanks to my good friend, Haru-chan, I did it… so thank her! Also, there is one more chapter to this fic. Not because I'm tired of this fic or anything, it's just that well, yeah. I had planned to end it right there.**

**Anyway, I'll see what I can do about the next chapter. All I can promise about that is that it won't be during this month.**

**Well, ja ne, minna! And Happy B-day to Shuichi!!**


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: Yes, I know what many of you are thinking: "What the hell took you so long to update?!" Well, I can't really answer that because there is no sufficient excuse. I know I probably pissed off a lot of you. But before you come after me with torches and pitch forks, please enjoy the conclusion of "Searching for Shuichi".**

Epilogue…

"Yuki! The wedding's gonna start soon. Stop trying to finish that novel," my lover yells from the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm almost done."

"Come on, you're already late for the deadline: what's a few more hours gonna do?"

I chuckle at his words, finishing up the last couple of lines of my new novel. Finally finished, I close the laptop and stare out the window, thinking.

Today is the day of Ayaka and Nakano's wedding. To tell the truth, I never really thought I'd see this day. Not while I was stuck in the dream world.

I'm not really sure what happened after I protected Shuichi from being shot by Seguchi. From what I found out from my pink-headed lover, Seguchi, Sakuma, and even he thought I was dead. Shuichi tried to kill himself with the gun but was saved by Sakuma's "Kumagoro Beam", whatever that is. Somehow, that got Shuichi to wake up back in the real world.

He told me that he woke up to see our friends around worrying around him. It took me about a while after Shuichi woke for me to actually get up myself. And when I did, he almost suffocated me with a hug.

It's been a few months, now. The only thing letting us know that the whole dream thing was anything but a dream is a scar I now have on my back, presumably from the gunshot wound I suffered. Only Shuichi and I know about it.

"Yuki, can you help me with this tie?" Shuichi asks, coming out of the bathroom.

I get up and help him out.

Something else that's happened since the dream is that Shuichi has matured a little. I can't really explain it, but I know that's what has happened. I think it happened because I almost died. Anyway, his newfound maturity has spread into his words, his mannerisms, and even into some of his songs. And actually, Bad Luck has gotten a little more popular because of it, or so I suspect.

I finish with the tie. Shuichi smiles at me, his amethyst eyes shining. Then he starts bouncing around a little on the balls of his feet.

"I can't believe Hiro's getting married today!" he squeals in excitement.

"Hn. Same with Ayaka," I say, turning away from him to put on my shoes.

Before I can slip one on, I feel a weight on my back as Shuichi hugs me from behind and rests his head on my spine. He then kisses me on the exact area where the scar from my gunshot wound is. A small smile comes to the corner of my lips, and I lay my hands on his.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Today is such a big day…" he whispers. "Today is just for those two… Like it's a world made just for them…"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Nowhere… I just… Today is just reminding me that we can't take anything for granted…"

I turn around, his arms still circled about my waist.

"What's this all about, baka?" I ask with a smirk.

He blushes and drops his arms. "Nothing. I just…" He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh, sorry for getting all sappy on you, Yuki. Um, I'm gonna go check on Hiro for a second… I'll be back soon."

"Sure."

I watch him leave before putting on my shoes. A few seconds later, the door opens quietly.

"That was fast," I reply. And then I turn.

Instead of my lover, I see my brother-in-law standing in the middle of the room. I glare icily at him.

Since the whole dream thing, I haven't really spoken to him. I know he apologized to Shuichi about it on the very day that Shuichi was well enough to go back to NG, and I know that Shuichi has (surprisingly) forgiven him, but I can't bring myself to face him or answer his calls.

This is the first time since then that I've seen him face to face. And even now, I really don't care about talking to him, so I turn away from him and pretend to fix my suit.

"Eiri, I need to speak to you," my brother-in-law says.

"Speak away," I reply, now pretending to search the drawers in the room for something.

A second later, a hand comes on my shoulder, and I quickly stiffen up. I try to take pull it off, but he holds it fast. I try to glare at him to take it off, but his eyes are filled with determination.

"Eiri, I have to say this to you face to face, even if you never again forgive me."

I stare him down for a little bit before I finally relax a little and turn towards him. "I'm listening."

He breathes a sigh of relief.

"Well, as you've no doubt figured out, I came to apologize for what I did to you and Shindou-san. I know that simply saying that will not help what happened to the both of you, but…" He reaches up and cups my cheek. "I am terribly sorry." His gaze shifts to the side. "I admit that the jealousy I've had toward him is great. He has been able to find out things about you that I've never known before, even though I've known you for so long. He has been able to do with you what I could never do and has always been there for you whenever you need a companion. He has been so much to you and more in such a short time. My jealousy just took over during a time when I was weak, and…"

He brushes some of his hair back and smiles wryly at me. I sigh deeply and close my eyes. It's obvious these past events have been haunting him just as much as they've haunted me. It's time to stop.

"Seguchi…"

"Please, Eiri, let me finish. What I am trying to say is… that I am a fool. I've hurt the man I love just for my own selfish reasons. I've tried to destroy your happiness… I am no different from Kitazawa-san."

He looks away from me in shame. I cross my arms and glare at him.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" I ask.

He looks up at me, confused. "What do you mean?"

I roll my eyes at him. "If you were anything like him, believe me, we wouldn't be talking to each other like this."

A small smile forms on his face as he figures out that I forgive him. "Oh, Eiri…"

I wave my hand at him, dismissing whatever words he's about to say. "Just forget it. It was all just a bad dream of yours brought on by sickness."

He starts laughing a little, cupping my cheek again and quickly giving me a chaste kiss on the lips.

"That is the last kiss I will ever steal from you, Eiri. I promise not to pursue a relationship with you any longer."

I arch a brow. "How will I know you'll keep your word?"

He blushes and gets flustered—something that is very uncharacteristic of him.

"Mika and I were going to wait until she started showing before telling anyone," he begins, "but I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you: Mika is pregnant."

"You're shitting me," I say, surprised by the news.

"No, I'm not. She is truly pregnant this time with my child."

Smiling a little, I pat him on the back and say, "I never thought I'd see the day. The kid's gonna be a pain in the ass with the two of you as its parents."

"Yes, I suppose," he chuckles. He grins at me and bows. "Well, I said all I've needed to. I go, so I'll see you when the ceremony starts. Goodbye, Uncle Eiri!"

I cringe at the name as he opens the door and starts to leave. Then he stops, bends over, and brings a small box in. He looks at it curiously and gives it to me.

"What's in it?" I ask.

"I don't know. It wasn't here when I came in."

I shake the box, trying to figure out what might be in it.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a bomb…" I say.

"That's, good," he replies cheerfully. "Then I'll see you soon."

He leaves the room. I stare at the door for a few seconds before going towards it, shifting the box to my hip, and opening it. I look along the hallway, but the only thing I see is a flash of Seguchi's blonde hair as he disappears behind a corner. So, I go back in my room and open the box.

Inside is a small, open box of strawberry pocky with several missing sticks and a blue wig… A wig that looks like the one Shuichi wore when he had amnesia in the dream world. What the hell…? Is this some kind of joke?

I run back to the door and check the hallway, just in case someone's out there, but I don't see anyone. I glare back at the box, wondering just what the hell I should do about it. It's all strange… Should I tell Shuichi about it? Maybe I should ignore it.

"Yuki, Yuki, it's gonna start!" was the only warning I got from Shuichi before he barges into the room, unaware that I'm right behind the door.

I end up falling flat on my face from the impact of the door to my ass. Shuichi comes over and tries to help me up.

"Damn, did you have to do that?" I ask, rubbing my now sore nose.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," Shuichi quickly says as he kisses my cheek in apology, "but it's time to go! Come on!"

He pulls my arm, trying to get me out. I take one last look at the box and decide that I can deal with it after the wedding.

The ceremony is done. Nakano and Ayaka are officially married. We're all at the reception now. It's been a couple of hours and… I almost wish I wasn't here. I'm surrounded by people from Shuichi and Nakano's old high school and some of Ayaka's acquaintances. I don't know too many of these people and don't plan on mingling, so I let myself watch my own baka.

He's bouncing around groups, talking to people and having fun. He hasn't gotten drunk yet, which is a pleasant surprise; it means I won't have to baby-sit him if he decides to throw up. Anyway, he's over by Sakuma now and is talking to him… Sakuma looks at me and smiles, but there's something weird about him… His eyes, the way that they're looking at me, seem to be telling me that he knows something. I don't know, like I said, it's weird. Maybe I've taken a drink too many already.

Sakuma looks away and says something to Shuichi, which causes him to giggle almost nervously. Then Sakuma starts bouncing away, one arm stretched up and holding his precious rabbit and alerting to people that he's coming through. Shuichi is calling out to him to come back, but the elder singer just keeps on going in some direction.

I go over to Shuichi and ask, "What's up with him?"

"Oh, nothing…" my lover says, embarrassed about something.

Some slow music starts up. I look around and see Sakuma over by the DJ, waving at the both of us with a mischievous grin. Shuichi is smiling back at him wryly, a faint blush now on his cheeks. I roll my eyes and take him by the hand.

"Come here; I know what this is about," I say as I take up my position.

"Was it that obvious?" he asks.

"Oh, yeah…" I answer and start to dance.

We dance around the room for a little before Shuichi asks, "Wow, Yuki, when did you learn to dance?"

"You can say that I learned when I was dreaming," I smirk.

"Oh, really? Well, that's sweet of you." He grins and gives me a kiss. He looks at me with those sparkling amethyst eyes. "I love you, Yuki."

I look down at Shuichi as he tucks his head under my chin.

There is something else about spending time in the dream world that has changed between us. I've learned to… cherish Shuichi a little more. As much as I'd hate to admit it, he is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd hate to lose this damn brat—not that I'd ever tell him.

So instead of saying that I love him back, I kiss his pink head and tighten my grip around his waist. The both of us continue dancing, happy to have found each other.

~~~~~Owari~~~~~

**A/N: Okay, so here it is. I'm ready for my punishment from those of you who have been waiting for this for so long. I am truly sorry to all of you. I hope you enjoyed it. So, do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you want to flame me for not updating in 19 months? Tell me all about it in a review.**

**And thanks to those of you who reviewed in the last chapter. I'm pretty sure that there are some people whom I never replied to for them, but I appreciated every single one.**

**Oh, and thanks to Griever 5 and my Haru-chan for supporting me.**

**Jan e, minna-san!**


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